Death and Freedom
by kaiju3
Summary: Tyler is a mercenary who doesn't care who he kills. Guardian is a hero trying to save the Fallout Wasteland from itself. The slavers betrayed them both. Now the two are teaming up.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: **Tyler Schoditsch**

I looked down at the dead bodies and all I see is loot. Whether it's food or weapons, it's all caps to me. The only difference today is that I wasn't the one to kill them.

Stretched in front of me lied the aftermath of a slaughter. Two dead Brahmin lay in front of a patch of burnt ground, of which I could only assume used to be where a wagon once stood. Dead corpses litter the ground around it, already picked for any valuable items.

While walking over to the next body for pay-out, I saw in the distance a few yards down something twitching. Is it a survivor, or some unlucky bastard still bleeding to death? Either way, he was the last and only one I hadn't searched yet. Before I knew it, I stood over his jerking body to find him alive.

I got down on one knee and, while getting as close as possible, asked him, "Who did this?"

The man was in his forties and was clearly an alcoholic; even with the blood and gunpowder in the air, the stench of vodka encompassed every breath. He, along with a destroyed liver, had several gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach. Clutching an open wound, he's only able to spit out one word.

"Guardian…" The man said with a spray of blood.

"Damn it." I whisper under my breath as the old man confirms what I had already assumed. I didn't think I would get any more information from this guy, so I took out my Python from its holster around my waist. With gun in hand, I flipped out the chamber to make sure all six bullets were in and flipped it back. With a calm hand, I pointed the pistol at the slaver to see his panicked eyes in my sights.

"… Don't…" He pleaded

BOOM! A hole the size of my fist now made up what used to be the left side of his face.

Now there was nothing left to do but leave. I had gotten what I needed and now had my bait. As I stood up to leave, I couldn't help but notice something else a few feet away. The sun was reflecting off of something but I couldn't tell what. I slowly walked over to where the light was and looked down to see what had caught my attention.

It was slave collars. Six of them. All piled up together in a group.

I stood there staring for moment, bewildered by what I was seeing, before screaming out, "Motherfucker! The little shit' is releasing them!"

After cursing at the sun for what must had been an hour, I headed off back to the slaver base. It wasn't long before I was walking to the front door to meet one of my favorite friends; the bouncer. I showed him my bounty contract, gave him my revolver, and started heading inside.

"Don't start trouble now." The bouncer grunts. I flick him off.

As I'm walking through the never ending rooms and catacombs to get to my employer's room, I see the usual going on: lap-dances and open sex in the relaxation rooms, videos of snuff films and porn in the video rooms, and alcoholics at the bar drinking themselves hammered_. _While normally I'd be in all three, today I had to go to a different room entirely; the Prince's room.

After shuffling my way past the dance floor, I somehow managed to make it to the stairwell. Things were much quieter up on the second floor, but unfortunately, the bouncer guarding the Prince's room was just as annoying.

"Ah… I guess you're here to see the boss, right?" He mocked, flapping the diseased hole he called a mouth. "Well, he told me to tell you that if Guardian wasn't dead this time to not even come in."

He smirked and looked behind me. "I see no one. So you can take yourself and that piece-of-shit revolver you call a gun back home to mommy."

I look around a little in relief and say back to him,"What?"

"Didn't you hear me you faggot? I said," Barking, he puts his face inches away from mine, "the boss doesn't want to see you. So take yourself and that piece of-"

He blinks and my gun is in his mouth. He stops talking.

"Now…" I said, taking a second to collect my thoughts. "When I said _what, _I meant, shut the fuck up. Now let me through or, I guarantee you, you will be used as fodder for the dogs tomorrow." I cock the gun and, with it, I push the two of us through the curtain to the next room.

The Prince's throne room stood before me, large and lavish. A chandelier of two people having sex hung over a heart-shaped bed to my left. To my right, a projector played a movie I couldn't see. Pictures of pre-war celebrities wearing glittery clothing decorated the walls. Behind the projector, being fed grapes by two naked slaves, sat the Prince on his throne.

"What the _hell _is going on?" He screamed in his high pitch voice, noticing me. As he got up, I could see he was wearing a stainless white tuxedo and fedora. His dark skin and jerry curls made him look like one of the celebrities on the posters behind him. The Prince made it too easy.

"Well Col. Sanders, it seems one of your cocks got out, and by the look of it, a small white one." I said back to him. The boss waved his hand, fury in his eyes, and I took my gun out of the douche's mouth.

"You leave. You stay," The Prince ordered, pointing to the guard and then me. In a fit, the asshole bouncer leaved to go back to _guard duty_. I stayed while the boss circled around the room, shaking his head.

"I'm gonna cut the bullshit out and get right to the point." He stopped and looked right at me. "I have lost four caravans in the past month and almost thirty slaves. This _one _prick has lost me tens of thousands. I hired you because I heard you were the best. _Tyler Schoditsch, too good for Talon Company and too good for slavers. _I signed you for five thousand caps and three weeks later… what? Nothing, that's what."

I stared unflinchingly into his eyes. "This is different. I know his M.O. now and also how to catch him."

The Prince raised an eyebrow, "Really? Tell me."

I took a breath and began.

"He is ambushing them with a Gobi campaign scout sniper rifle from a distance. If he's unable to get them all, he somehow is able to get close to them unseen and finishes them off with an AEP7 laser pistol before destroying their caravans with a frag grenade. It's always the same bullet wounds, always the same burns, and always the same explosive aftermath. I've also figured out what he is doing with the slaves and why he's stealing from you."

A brief look of surprise passed his face before it turns back to anger. "I know _why _he's doing this. He's taking the slaves and selling them to make money. I already-"

"No." I interjected. "He's not reselling them. He's freeing them. That's why I haven't been able to find a buyer or lead that way." I walked closer to him. "You see, the guy is some kind of do-gooder pussy. He's freeing them because he thinks it's the 'right thing to do'. Because of that, I'll be able to catch the dumbass."

The Prince pursed his lips in contemplation for a few moments before walking back to his throne. Crossing his legs, the Prince pressed his hands together, looked up, and asked, "What will you need?"

"Slaves… Several."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: **Guardian**

I am the Guardian Angel.

Those were the words printed on the comic in my hands, it's once neat writing now smudged with age. With the greatest of care, I turned it's brown, wrinkled page to the next, making sure not to take off a significant chunk. It was remarkable it had lasted this long, only kept this maintained by the packaging I found it in.

These were the stories that had influenced my current occupation. Many grow up in the wasteland hopeless, believing there are no such things as heroes. They all died with the rest of society in the Great War. I had even believed that at one time myself. If we as a species did this to ourselves, what hope was there for us?

On the second story of an old building in the city, I thought about what I had once been. I was a survivor, digging through trash and ruins for my next meal ticket. I had no thoughts of morality, no plan for the future past how I'd get enough caps to upgrade to rat meat instead of radroach on a stick.

That was before I was captured by slavers.

One night, while I was looking through an old pharmacy, I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, there were handcuffs around my wrists and a slave collar around my neck, a glowing red light reminding me it could explode in a moment's notice.

What happened after that is still a blank to me.

I escaped after a few months. I was on the run, with slavers chasing after me left and right. Escaped slaves were bad for business, not to mention they needed to keep the other slaves' morale low. They needed to capture me and set an example. I needed a place to hide to avoid that.

Then I found it. The fifth day I was hunted, I came across a small building with a picture of a gigantic man with green skin on the window, like a super mutant but with hair. I didn't care what it was, I just ran in to hide out. I opened the door to see abandoned shelves covered in dust and ash and climbed over the counter.

Once I was safely hidden behind it, I noticed there was a bag of Fancy Lads Snack Cakes behind the counter. I tore into the boxes and devoured them, not having eaten in days. In hindsight, that box was probably the only thing that kept me from killing myself.

I heard voices outside. I panicked, thinking they could be my hunters. Looking around, I saw a small door that led to a back room and opened it. Silently, I closed the door behind me. I pressed my head to the door and listened. There were voices, something was kicked over, and then silence. Thinking they were gone, I collapsed to the ground in tears, totally exhausted. If they found me, I'd go without a fight.

It must've been hours before I uncurled myself from the fetal position and examined the room I was in. Lining the shelves stood rows upon rows of rectangular white boxes, each filled with dozens upon dozens of paper books. With nothing else to do in fear of going outside, I took one out of its bag, its pages kept crisp between the square cardboard and the plastic it was kept in, and started flipping through.

What I saw changed my life. On these pages were vibrant depictions of masked men who were capable of doing great things and chose to use their powers for good. They fought all kinds of foes, ranging from thieves to cosmic beings. In a world where death and sin were commonplace, the idea that a man would stand up for justice and demand nothing in return was mind-blowing.

As I read through comic after comic, an idea slowly formed in my head. What the wasteland needed-what the entire _world_ needed-were people like the men in these books. Someone to stand up to tyranny. Someone to fight the good fight. Someone to show that there was still hope in this world.

It needed a hero.

The _clopping_ of Brahmin hooves jolted me out of my thoughts and back into the present. Quickly, I put the comic back into my pack and took out my sniper rifle. Placing a gloved hand on my goggles (my own hero mask), I turned on their zoom function.

My perch on the second story of a ruin gave me an exceptional view of the city street. Down the broken road came three slavers with two slaves hogtied onto a Brahmin. The sight of their collars and eyes devoid of hope sent cold rage throughout my body. Setting my sniper rifle on a chunk of concrete, I lined up my sights.

This was what I did. Ever since that fateful day in the store, I took on my own superhero guise. I was the Guardian, taking it upon myself to take down raider gangs and slaver rings. My work earned my fair share of enemies, but the faces of the people I saved were all I needed to continue.

The first slaver went down with a well-placed headshot. The other two panicked, quickly taking out their rifles and pointing them everywhere. As I took down the second one, I moved the rifle to find the third guard.

He was holding a missile launcher pointed right in my direction.

"Shit." I exclaimed before realizing heroes don't cuss.

I dropped the sniper rifle and ran for my life as the hiss of a rocket igniting filled my ears. I quickly jumped down a hole in the floor to the ground. The missile hit the building just as I landed. The blast must've rocked the already-frail supports enough to break them as a loud heart-stopping groan sounded throughout the ruins. The walls shook and pieces of plaster fell from above me.

The building was collapsing!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: **Tyler **

"Hah!" I yelled triumphantly. "I got the little shit!"

The building that the _Guardian_ was using as a crow's nest came crumbling down. That was it. My plan worked. Despite some technicalities and loss merchandise, it was perfect. Now all that needed to be done was to find something to bring back to boss.

Unfortunately, my celebration was cut short. The building's collapse sent out a fog of ash in the air that made traversing the field almost impossible. Now all that there was to do was wait. Wait for the ash to clear, search the rubble, and find my prize. I managed to wait two minutes before I got bored and started searching.

"Stay here!" I yelled to the slavers. There wasn't a way to tell if they heard me or not, but since there was no movement, I assumed it was heard. The smog was still choking the air, blocking everything more than a foot away from my eyes, and as I put my sleeve to my mouth, I pondered how my plan went from genius to fuck-up.

**Hour earlier**

"Hey Tyler."

"What Jim?"

"I was just wondering why were doing this."

I stopped writing and looked up at him, "Peter Rabbit would be wise to stay out of my garden."

Jim looked down and stepped back a little.

"Were doing this," Jim looked back up. "Because this how we're going to _kill_ the Guardian." I took a pause.

"The entire reason why Guardian has been getting away with this is because we have been underestimating him. Not… any…more. I've devised a plan that will result in his death and no causalities on our side. You see," I got up and started walking. "What we are going to do is put the slavers in slave apparel and slaves in mercenary apparel. That way when Guardian thinks he killed all the slavers and goes to rescue you-"

"We'll pull the old switch-a-rue." Jim finished. I paused and looked at him for a moment.

"Sorry," Jim apologized.

I waved him off and we continued to walk.

"But," Jim stated, "in this scenario, won't you die? Why aren't we just getting the caravan armed with like twenty guys and shoot when we see him?"

I again paused to look him in the eye and clarify what he obviously didn't understand. Jim was a loyal, obedient friend but had little in the realm of brains.

I got up close to him, anger in my eyes, "The _reason _why we aren't doing that is what do you think every other fucking slaver and merc in the entire Mojave has tried to do… That! _Everyone_ tried it and _everyone_ failed. They failed because they think this guy is stupid and can use _good-old_ slaver tactics of overwhelming firepower to get this guy. No. That's why we aren't doing that."

"Then why are we switching clothes?"

"That's the back up. If both slaves and I die then, when he goes to unhook you from the collars, you'll pull your pistols out and shoot him in the face."

Jim thought for a moment before nodding his head and saluting.

Under my breath as I walked away I said to myself, "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

**Present**

After twenty minutes of slow walking the building was almost in site. The fog was clearing and I could start to see better now. All that was going through my mind right then was how to spend the five thousand caps. I'll probably go through it in a week; maybe two if I choked the chicken.

The second I was done thinking about my pay out I noticed something in the distance; a shadow. It was too dusty to see who or what it was. I pulled my gun out and pointed just as the silhouette disappeared. Was it nothing? In the corner of my eye I saw it again; turn. While pointing _again; _nothing. Was there anything there? Or was it just my eyes playing tricks?

BIZZ

The sound of a laser pistol being fired. I turned just in time to get hit in the upper shoulder by the beam.

"Fuck!" I screamed, grabbing my shoulder. If it wasn't for my metal merc armor that would have _really_ hur-.

BIZZ

"Damn it!" Another one, right in the back.

Now I'm mad. I look down into my belt and pull out a grenade. Pulling the pin, I lobbed it about ten feet in front of me before getting hit in the back one more time. Only moments after the explosive was thrown, I made a mad dash away while clutching my shoulder. About ten feet is all that I made before the explosion occurred.

The explosion punched me in the air, adding more damn sand to the laser wounds in my back. After hitting the ground and rolling through the dirt, I managed to sit up and look back at where I had last thrown the grenade. As I narrowed my eyes to see a silhouette, another laser pierced the smoke and hit my knee.

This time was different. The asshole hit me in-between the joint of the armor and the blast went clean through my knee-cap. Within milliseconds I laid convulsing on the ground from the pain. My only hope was Jim; if he heard the explosion and came over, he could capture or kill him. But as the smoke started clearing, all I could begin to see was the Brahmin with Jim and the other slaver, a ghoul, still hanging on.

I turned my head all around to search, prone on the floor and breathing heavily. Nothing… nothing at all. Knowing that I would be killed indefinitely if I lay there any longer, I used every last bit of strength to get up slowly and stand lopsided before shuffling to the Brahmin. Jim and the ghoul were just standing there…bastards.

As the limp march began, I couldn't help but notice something was wrong. Jim and the ghoul were just standing there. I know that I told them not to move but they see me and aren't even coming over to help me? Couldn't those retards see I'm shot?

"What the hell are you guys doing!" I yelled as I got closer.

I was now in arms reach of them and could see faces. With the smoke cleared I could now fully see the entirety of his body. I turned to Jim and my heart stopped. A rag had been inserted into Jim and the ghoul's mouth. Slowly with caution, I reached forward to pull the cloth out of his mouth. The second I did, his next words became engrained into my memory forever.

"Stealth-boy, behind you!"

I turned around just in time to see the target de-cloaking behind me.

"Put it down." He said firmly.

For the badass slaver killer, I assumed he'd be bigger. Clad in blue armor, he was wearing goggles that didn't allow me to see the entirety of his face, ones that wrapped over and around his head at the same time. In his hands was a laser pistol, the barrel still warm with the heat of earlier shots.

No matter, the shit' got me. I dropped my pistol and put my hands on my head. While still pointing the laser pistol, he walked behind me to cut free the two _slaves_.

_Here we go, _I think to myself. Try as I be, I could help but smile.

"Let me just disable your slave collars and you can go free." The Guardian said.

"You heard him boys… _Run off and be free._" I said sarcastically just as Jim and the ghoul pulled their pistols out.

The Guardian's face was priceless, I assumed, as he asked, "What are you doing? How'd you get guns?"

"They got guns because I gave them to em'."

I turned around to see Guardian looking at me, sudden realization plastered on his face.

"Now the way I see it, you have two guns to your head while I only have one. So…" I leaned down and grab my gun. "I'm just going to pick this up and I-don't-know, maybe _shoot _you."

As I went to aim my pistol at his head, a smile formed around my face, even bigger than the one before. "You see that's the difference between you and me. You think everything's black and white, that every person can be trusted, while I know there is no line, that everyone's a bastard in their own right. I guess this is where the legend of _Guardian, hero of slaves_, ends."

As I cock my pistol, I couldn't help but hear one doing the same thing to the right of me.

"Sorry Tyler, I can't have you do that." Jim said.

I stood there stunned for a moment, unable to answer, before I looked at him and yelled, "What are doing? I'm your commanding officer!"

Jim looked down for a second, shaking his head, and looked back right at me.

"Actually… My _commanding officer _is my employer and he wants both of you."

"Both of us?" I asked.

"Slaves," He chokes a little. "The slavers are branching out into the mercenary business, enslaving them so they can do all the work while the Prince handles the profits. Sorry Tyler, but I'm going to need you to put this on." He hands me slave collar.

It was one thing to get outsmarted by someone you never met. But to get betrayed by one of your closest –friends- cohorts was another thing.

I looked around to see the Guardian and me pointing guns at each other while Jim and the Ghoul were pointing guns at us as well. Knowing just how fucked both of us were, I looked at him and he to me. For a fraction of a second we stood there, staring at each other and, somehow, we said the exact same thing at the same time.

"Truce?" And in a second Guardian swung around and hit the ghoul's gun out of the way while I tackled Jim.

Jim spun, slinging my back to the ground, and started punching. I turned over and grabbed a fist full of sand before throwing it in his face. With him blinded, I pushed him over and, while fighting back the pain in my leg, got on top of him. I rained punches on his face, making sure to keep him disoriented. I don't know how many times I hit him but, before long, his face was bleeding so much I thought he'd need a transfusion.

With one last punch, I knocked Jim unconscious. I leaned over and grabbed my Python that was lying on the ground. I made sure to check it's proper and pointed it in his face. For a second, the blood-covered pool Jim called a face was unrecognizable. His eyes rolled back into his head and he slipped into rest.

This is it. Just like the last slaver. Kill him and be done with it. My trigger finger clenched on the trigger, ready to pull, even with my hand shaking. Forget he was a friend. Friends don't pull _shit _like that. But, I've pulled _shit _like that. Who cares, just pull the trig-

Something hard crashed into the back of my head, knocking me to the ground. In a second, my eyes fill with black and I fall into what feels like a warm bath.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: **Guardian**

It was turning out to be a weird day. After keeping a building from collapsing on top of me, to trying to save some slaves that turned out to be nothing but bait, to me facing off against someone who was way too prepared to be a slaver, I was in for the battle of my life.

A quick glance, a silent truce, and both of us took on our would-be captors. I knocked the ghoul's gun out of his hands, but with a quick left hook he sent me reeling to the ground. Blood and dirt filled my mouth as he stomped on my head twice, blurring my vision.

I was still trying to snap myself out of the beaten daze when I noticed the blonde mercenary, the one I was _teaming up with_, having a much better time than me. He had the other slaver on the ground, pointing a pistol at him point-blank. But…was that hesitation? Was the villain that was just recently preaching to me about black-and-white afraid to kill?

Before I could find out, the ghoul ran over and knocked him out with a kick.

This was it. The back of my mind screamed at me to move. As my mind struggled to regain control of my body and my eyes started to focus, I tried to think of something clever to say.

"Think I can be taken out that easily?" I grunted before reaching for my laser pistol

Awesome.

The ghoul turned around in surprise and raised his pistol. Before he could shoot, I aimed my own and pulled the trigger…to completely miss.

Not awesome.

"Get. Up." The ghoul snarled.

I instantly dropped my gun and put my hands behind my head. With his pistol, he motioned for me to get up. I slowly got to my feet.

"Now then, we're going to do this again." The ghoul smiled, apparently relishing the taste of victory. "You're going to put this collar on and I'm going to-"

He never got to finish. Unbeknownst to my enemy, I had made my own secret weapon for times like this. My hands behind my head, I grabbed a propeller blade wrapped in cloth hidden under my collar. With one fluid motion, I threw my wingstick, the one propeller splitting into three that sliced the ghoul's head off. The wingstick spun through the air before flying back into my hand.

"Heads up." I quipped.

That's better.

A racking cough pulled me out of my inner gloating. I looked down to see the blonde mercenary that tried to kill me now spitting up blood. His injuries we're already severe, his knee the worst. He'd probably bleed out in an hour or so, left to die in this abandoned street a loner's death, where not only scavengers but radroaches and mole rats would pick through his rotting cor—

"Crap." I sighed before kicking myself for cursing.

My hand went to my goggles, switching my vision from thermal to medical. Instantly, an x-ray of his body showed up with tiny labels detailing the injuries.

I could already see his BPM was 74 and dropping. He had four burn wounds and a fractured left knee bone. He wouldn't last five minutes if he didn't stabilize. I turned and reached into my leg to grab a stimpak from one of my pant pockets. Grasping the syringe, I grabbed the merc's arm, located the blood vein, and stabbed the needle in. I pushed the end down and let the healing fluid sink in.

I waited, watching for a reaction. Suddenly, his heart rate skyrocketed. His body convulsed and foam came out of his mouth. A bad reaction!

Quickly, I reached into another pocket. I took out a different syringe; one marked Med-X. Tilting his head, I located the blood vein in his neck and injected the drug in. If this didn't slow his heart rate, he would die of a heart attack if he hadn't already.

Ten seconds go by. Then twenty. He's still convulsing. Then, his vitals slowly go back to normal.

Phew.

"You seriously owe me one." I said, grabbing his arm and hoisting him over the Brahmin.

…

When we were only a few minutes away from my base, I gave the Brahmin to a starving scavenger and carried the merc myself. He was still bleeding but the stimpak had stabilized him just enough to last. The arms were quickly getting tired, cursing me for saving the guy who had tried to kill me.

"Whatever," I told them. "I'm a hero."

Finally, we made it. In front of me stood my secret base, the same comic shop I had stumbled upon only a few years ago. A curtain was now draped over the long-shattered store window, hiding what was inside. Grabbing the knob, I opened the door to the familiar chime.

"Alright, my nemesis," I grinned, walking into the shop. "Let's get you fixed up."

In the middle of the floor stood a wooden table, cluttered with junk that I immediately swiped off. Laying his body on it belly-up, I grabbed a first-aid kit and began.

Being a superhero in the wastelands required an extensive background in medicine in order to survive the constant battles and ambushes. Operating by candlelight, with no one to assist, almost guaranteed it to be a total failure, but I liked playing the odds. First, I rolled the body over to examine the laser wounds on his back. His armor had taken some of the hit, but there were still wounds that had been bleeding heavily. Replacing the loss cost me two blood packs.

Then, I checked his shoulder to find it burned, the metal shoulder pad catching _most_ of the blast. Some cold water and a bandage was all I could do for it. Most likely, he would never have full use of his arm again.

The leg was the worst part. My laser had hit his kneecap, fracturing it. It'd need to be replaced soon, or he'd lose the entire leg. I racked my mind for how I would do this, how I could possibly save it. Then it hit me.

Grabbing a wrench, I ran out the door into my garage. There was a robot out there I had defeated earlier with surprisingly accurate legs…

…

The blonde mercenary woke up slowly, hours later. Instinctively, he reached for the pistol at his side to find nothing there. Confused, he patted himself down to see if he had any weapons on him.

"I already took them off you." I said as I stood behind the counter in the far corner, trying to look mysterious. "I'm not _stupid_."

He looked up at me, warm hate in his eyes, before glancing away to remember what had happened. His expression quickly went from hate to rage when it clicked. He tried to stand up then fell back down with a shout of pain, his injured knee unable to take the pressure.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"My fortress of solitude." I said, remembering that from one of my books.

"Where's that?"

"_Somewhere?" _I said as to keep my ambiguity high. Just as I said this though the mercenary moved a little and grabbed his body.

"Aghh, what the shi- _fuck_!" He said weirdly. "What the fuck happened?"

I held up an empty blood bag. "I fixed you up. Took eight hours and several packs of blood. I even replaced your knee."

The merc didn't know how to respond, instead opting to stare at the floor.

"What did you do to my leg?"

"Why? Is there something wrong with it?" I asked

"No, last time I remember I could barley move it. Now it feels better than the rest of my body, which feels like shit by the way. Thank you." As he said this he then grabbed his shoulder and made the same oddly-cursing statement just moments before. But without a moment's notice he asked the question I was waiting for.

"Why? Why save me?"

"Because I'm the Guardian."

He looked back at me, disbelief in his eyes. Then his expression cracked, a grin slowly spreading across his face, before a fit of laughter came upon him. I wondered if I should've felt offended while he dragged himself back onto the makeshift bedroll I originally placed him on. He lay there for several minutes, just laughing at me. I would of felt worse if he hadn't grabbed himself midway through to stop because of the pain.

The merc wiped one last tear from his eye before looking around the base. His bedroll was right next to the curtained shop window, the edges taped down to keep light in. Behind him, a large map of the city was plastered with various pen markings and pinned by pictures of escape routes, raider hideouts, and slaver checkpoints. The map itself took me 2 years to get to where it is now. The wall across from that was covered in bounty posters and drawings of bandits, many of them marked out with x's. That only took a few months. On the shelf next to that stood my trophy wall, holding various weapons and items that belonged to some of my more memorable opponents. No heads or anything like that.

I stood behind the counter, watching him observe his surroundings. Finally, he looked back up at me and asked, "So really, _why_ did you do it?"

"I told you. I'm the Gu—"  
>"Oh don't give me that bullshit!" He yelled. "You took down those slaves and killed both the mercs, so I know you have no problem with killing. So why didn't you kill me?"<p>

I stared at him through my goggles for a second before saying, "First, I killed one, you killed the other. Second-"

"_Fuck_ you. I know what happened and you aren't going to lie to me."

I paused, confused at what he just said, before continuing.

"Second, you were betrayed by people you trusted and then left to die. I… Never mind, No one deserves that. Not even someone like you."

The rage in his eyes softened, as if accepting my answer, or giving up on the fight. He tried to stand back up again, slowly this time, and managed to succeed by leaning against the wall. The process of getting up took a minute, but either way he was standing. He looked himself over and counted the bandages around his chest and knee. He was lucky to be alive.

"So," He stared daggers at me after a lengthy silence. "How are we going to get back at them?"

**Thank you all for reading so far. Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: **Guardian**

The two of us stood over my giant map of the city laid down flat on my table. Taking out a pen, the mercenary began drawing on the back of it, at first drawing a large square and labeling it "Penthouse."

"That's the Prince's mansion." He said, pointing to it. "It's where his top men and their slaves party. On the second floor is his bachelor pad, where he has at least two armed guards at the door and two slaves at his beck and call."

"Any windows?" I ask.

"No. Keeps everything dark."

"So we can't just snipe him. I figured it wouldn't be that easy."

"It gets worse." Quickly, the mercenary began drawing more shapes around the square, detailing the compound's defenses.

As he was drawing, I looked up and asked, "You know, I never got your name."

He stopped and looked at me suspiciously. "Why the hell would you need my name?"

"We're doing a team-up, aren't we? Risking our lives, fighting back-to-back? It'd be a hell of a lot easier if I knew it."

The merc sighed before saying, "Tyler."

"And?" I asked. The merc just waited there for awhile.

"My last name is too long and unimportant. For now, all you need to know is its Tyler."

He then went back to drawing, going on like that for five minutes before finishing up with a circle of loops around what he had just drawn.

"The entire compound is surrounded by a barbed wire electric fence, as well as any rubble the slavers decided to push up against it. Each corner is watched over by guard tower, though usually they're looking in instead of out."

"Escaping slaves that much of a problem?"

"It's more for intimidation. Can you let me _fucking finish_!"

I nodded and he continued.

"Now; if we get past the entrance, which is a heavily guarded steel gate, we would then enter a large courtyard where we'd be sitting ducks for pretty much every slaver asshole in the compound. There's a huge wall separating us from the penthouse. We'd be torn to shreds by turrets, assault rifles, and missiles before we took two steps."

"Frontal assault's out of the question."

"Then we'll have two paths. To the left is the slaver quarter, including barracks and a lunchroom, while to the right is where the slaves are pent up. We have to go through one of the two in order to get to the penthouse."

"And what's that?" I asked, pointing to a large circle he drew behind the mansion.

"That's the slave pit. At times the slavers will throw two slaves in to fight to the death, betting on the winner. Sometimes they even make a huge show of it, inviting important people around the wasteland to gamble as well. I tell you what, Ultimate Slave Fighting is probably one of the main reasons I joined with them in the first place. Between the thrill of the money riding and the possibility-"

Something clicked inside me. My body uncontrollably shivered as images forced themselves into my head. Bloody machetes. Starving hunger. Mocking crowds. A dead body at my fee-

"You okay?" Tyler asked, snapping me out of my daze.

I took in a breath to get control of myself and repressed the memories once again. There'd be another time to break down. But not now.

"So," I began, changing the subject. "We can't just go in guns blazing. Even with a small army, we'd all be mowed down. We can't sneak in because of the defenses, and even if we could, we wouldn't make it out alive after killing the Prince because he's too well fortified. Is there a way we could kill him without attacking this place?"

"The Prince never leaves the compound." Tyler looked up at me. "With a hundred men under his thumb and all the bitches he could ask for, why would he?"

"So we have to get in." I rubbed my chin, trying to think. "We're definitely going to need more than the two of us."

"That's why I don't think we'll be able to do this. You said it yourself, even with a small army, we'd get slaughtered. And I know the capabilities of their defenses first hand."

"Hold on." Stepping away from the table, I jumped over the counter behind me and walked into the back room. I turned on the light and illuminated dozens of shelves housing my crown jewels: my books. Stepping over a few white boxes filled with comics, I grabbed a small book and ran back out.

"Here it is." I said, holding it up.

I slammed the book on the table and opened it up to my favorite page. Like my comic books, the story was written with illustrated panels, but was read from right to left. I only found a few of these books, all in a box with the word 'manga' written on it. I opened the book to the splash page in the middle, an illustrated scene spanning across two pages depicting seven samurai about to take on an entire army of bandits.

"We don't need an army." I explained after seeing Tyler's raised eyebrow. "We just need a couple extraordinary men and a good plan."

The mercenary stared at me in silence for half a minute, checking to see if I was serious, before saying, "You really are into these… books, aren't you?"

"And?"

"Nothing." He sighed before pointing at my face. "I just find reading to be a little, I don't know, gay. And I guess those goggles are your mask?"

I smiled, putting my hand on the controls. "They're more than that. This baby has zoom, x-ray, and therm-"

Tyler's eyes went wide as I tackled him to the ground. Before he could let out a curse, bullets tore through the window curtain.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: **Tyler Schoditsch **

"What the fuck is that!"

"Gunfire!" Guardian yelled back at me. Before I even knew what was going on, he already had the table perched up to make cover for ourselves. With both of our backs against the table and bullets piercing the air over our heads, I began to think that maybe this was a bad idea.

"What do we do!" Guardian shouted. Even though he was only a few inches away from me, I could barely hear him over the gunfire. Through the sheer confusion, I forced my brain to race on what needed to be done. I looked over and yelled into his ear, "Can you see how many people there are!"

Guardian touched his mask and grabbed what looked like a grenade from his belt. Before I could even ask what the hell he was doing, he lobbed it over and looked up. The explosion occurred right when he took the peak. There was only a brief moment of silence before the explosion faded and the gunfire resumed, just as Guardian sat back down.

"At least a dozen!" Guardian said. "Way too many to take on!"

As he took out his laser pistol and started firing blind over the table, I went to my belt once again to find nothing.

"Where's my pistol?" I shouted.

"What!"

"My gun! Where is _my _gun!"

Once he heard those words, a look came on his face. Worry. I knew what he's thinking. _Should I give him a gun? The merc that nearly killed me? _We're getting shot at and he still doesn't trust me.

_Smart._

Never-the-less, he pointed at the room he went into earlier to get his _comic-book._ We both looked at each other for a second before I dashed over the counter into the room.

"What the fuck?" I couldn't help but utter.

The room was completely covered in nothing but books. Four complete book shelves full of material. The ground, which I couldn't even see, was also covered in nothing but this shit. I had no idea why anyone would waste their time with this.

"This is one of the reasons I don't read." I said, digging my way through the room.

I began searching. Due to the fact that the _entire _room was covered, I didn't think finding my weapons would be an easy trek, but I had no other choice. First, the box in the center of the room. With hands on it, I turned it over to see more comics fall out.

"What the fuck? You're an asshole!" I yelled into the other room. Whether-or-not he heard me was irrelevant. Now it was time for the shelves. Methodically, I pulled out every single _book _from its place to see if he might have put it in the back. After about the hundredth it was clear this was not the case. Then I checked the closet. Like a dumbass, I _didn't _check that first. With hands on knob the door opened. _More _comic books came out.

"Wh… Ha…" I was speechless. Out of all the places that were destroyed in the Great War, the comic book shops survived? Again, I had to snap myself out of trance that _his _comics put me in. I shifted through the pile but neither pipe nor gun was there. I turned around to see Guardian running into the room.

"Where are they!" I shouted in frustration.

Like a douche, he closed the door a little to show my pistol behind there the entire time. A shit-eating grin was plastered on his face before his eyes went wide.

"What happened! You completely messed up my collection!"

"Shut the hell up!" I say, picking up my Python. "I don't give two shits about your faggy comics or you. All I need is to get out of here."

"Now I now you didn't _mean _that. You're only saying that because you're mad," He then put a hand on my shoulder. "And I forgive you."

I throw his hand off my shoulder in disgust just as he closes the door. Trying his best not to step on his comics, he quickly jumped over to the far corner and opened another door to a small, tiled room with a giant-

"Is that what I think it is?"

"A super-awesome escape route tunnel?" Guardian smiled, pointing to the dark hole in the floor. "Yes, yes it is."

"Why the fuck didn't you say you had this earlier?"

Regardless, I was ready to leave. I pushed him over, ready to jump into the hole, before I remembered something. Looking back, I asked, "Where's my pipe?"

A look of confusion passed over the Guardian's face before realization hit and he said, "I got rid of it. I thought it was just an old piece of metal that was falling off your suit."

I stared at him in silence, "That's makes no sense… Now what am I going to use for a melee weapon!"

Guardian took an awkward breath through his teeth, thinking, before he snapped his fingers.

"I know! You could use my power-fist!"

Holy shit. "That'll work. Where is it?"

"It's on my trophy case near the…entrance."

We both looked at the door leading out of the back room. There was no way we could go back in there, not with the slavers unleashing an entire arsenal on us. I was about ready to jump back in that hole before I heard an electrically amplified, high-pitched voice through the air.

The Prince.

"Are you still alive, Guardian? I wouldn't think you'd be taken out this easily."

"Oh my god." Guardian gasped. "He's doing a villain monologue."

"What?"

"I'll explain later. Get the power glove, _I'll keep him busy_."

Before I could stop him, Guardian opened the door and shouted out, "I could never be killed by a villain like you!"

As a sheer woman-like laugh erupted from the Prince's megaphone, Guardian motioned me to run out. I was confused as all hell, but I needed that weapon. I ran to the trophy case just as the Prince outside continued.

"You should know how much of an honor my presence is, Guardian. Very rarely do I leave my home to visit an enemy, but you are different. You killed not only dozens of my men but also my best. So… what I come here to say is… congratulations."

I couldn't get the glass door to open no matter how hard I tried. After ten seconds of messing with it I resorted to option two. With all the anger I could muster, I propelled my arm through the glass and into the case. Remarkably, it didn't hurt too much. After the smash I grabbed the power glove off the shelf, and grabbed what looked like a crossed out bounty poster right behind it. I looked back to see a confused Guardian hiding behind the door-frame.

"Someone with your skill would be much more suited to be an ally than an enemy. So, I am here to ask not only for your cooperation, but also for you to join my little organization."

"What the fuck?" I whispered.

"That's right; you did in fact hear me right." He continued. "I, the Prince, ask upon you to join us. Think about it. The money. The power. The women. _All yours_. We will be coming to get your answer _now_. And _please_, make the right choice"

The sound of a dozen footsteps echoed outside as I ran into the back room and shut the door, locking it behind me, I think. I could see Guardian crouched over something in a back corner, but before I could see what it was, the sound of feet crunching glass took me back to reality. The slavers we're in the area.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" I said in a forceful tone while running to the man-hole cover. "What are you doing?"

"Setting." He said, while messing with what looked like a large football.

"Setting? Like setting a bomb, setting?"

Right as I said this though, Guardian grabbed my arm and started pulling me towards the man-hole. I immediately shoved him off but as I did this I heard someone trying to turn the door. So, I in turn started for the cover as Guardian before wanted me to go and before long both of us were in there and Guardian was leading the way.

After only a few meters I stopped and demanded answers.

"What did you _set?" _

"We really don't have time for this. We need to run." Guardian replied turning back at me. Out of nowhere I light the brightness of the sun turned to face me and nearly blinded me. I turned to try and not get the full effect of it.

"No." I said staring at the grim-filled walls of the sewer. "I need to know what is going on."

"I set a mini"

"Mini?" I asked.

"Nuke."

Shit. I started sprinting now. My heart was racing and my knee felt like it was going to pop. After a short time I must have been running so fast that I nearly run past the light that was showing me the path. Throughout the entire time I was running I thought to myself, _how long has it been?_

"Here we are." My mind breaks and I stop to see guardian. He pushed up on the manhole cover and I could now see day light. He forced his body out into the streets. I went next, but as I climbed, the tunnel shakes and I hear the explosion. Guardian puts out his hand to pull me up. I wave it off and grab the edges of the hole and pull myself up. The pain on my body was what you would expect of someone who was shot only _days _earlier.

Now on the surface, I rolled over and took a breather. My body ached and I was tired. I looked over to see Guardian watching the mushroom cloud ascend to the sky from what appeared to be scenic overview a few feet from me. After taking a minute to rest, I climbed back up into a standing position.

I asked, "Where are we?"

"A few hundred yards from the base."

"Good." I say while pulling out my pistol.

"How did they know we were there?" Guardian asked as he turned around to face me.

"Because," I cocked my gun and pointed it at him, "I told them."

**End of Part One**

**Thank you all for reading. Please Review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 2**

Chapter 7: **Tyler Schoditsch**

"Keep! Another one." I yelled at the bartender. The man was old and deformed by what appeared to be a knife to the eye. He was old as the dust in the beer he was serving me and about as friendly as it too. Neither him, nor anyone else in this bar was going to get in my way of having it, though.

"Here ya go," The prune said with his raspy voice. After setting the beer down, he just waited there, looking at me. I wasn't looking at him though; I was looking at the beer. Before long however, the prick cleared his voice, as to get my attention. No matter, I threw the caps on the floor.

"That enough?" I spat.

"Yeah," The old man snarled, rolling up his sleeves. "Just enough for an ass-whooping."

I looked him dead in the eye and said, "Sorry."

Without hesitation or getting out of my seat, I punched him in the dick. With the momentum of his body coming down, I slammed his head into the table and knocked him unconscious.

The room looked over for a second only to break eye contact and resume their doings. No one wanted unneeded trouble, especially for some old shit. I didn't want much trouble either, but sometimes people just get in my way.

Despite being in my favorite place, a bar, and sipping on my favorite drink, a beer, I still couldn't help but think about what transpired earlier.

**19 hours earlier**

"Because, I told them to."

Guardian just stared at me, completely and without a doubt, caught off guard.

He tilted his head and said, "What do you _mean _you told them to?"

"You see, at some point between you killing the mercs and me waking up in your… _house, _I died," I said, Guardian's face twisting into bewilderment.

"You see," I reached up into my mouth, while still holding my gun steady and firm, and pulled out the chip, "this little bitch right here goes off in the event I _die._ Something must have went wrong when you tried to fix me so this is how they found, _us." _

Guardian tried to sneak a little closer and I yelled, "Get the fuck back!"

"Ok, ok." Guardian said, holding up his hands. "If you didn't mean to call them, then why are you still pointing the gun at me?"

My mind locked as I tried to come up with an answer. "_Why, _I am doing this, is because, just because they don't want me anymore don't mean someone else doesn't."

"I don't understand."

"Holy shit, you're stupid. If I kill you, I can sell it to someone else who wants you dead and then become a mercenary again."

Guardian stood there for a moment, unable to answer, most likely contemplating what to say. Then, without reason, a smile came upon his face.

"I didn't know you were that dumb."

"Shut the fuck up!" I yelled back at him, forcefully pushing my gun against his temple. "Who's the one with the gun here? I should kill you right now, calling me dumb. End you and your fucking crusade."

"I'm sorry. If I had known you were a menstrual, I wouldn't have saved you in the first place."

"Shut, the, fuck, up, now!" I yelled at him, almost losing my temper. "If you don't stop talking right now-"

"What, you'll kill me?" He laughed.

I paused, the gun's barrel now making a mark in the skin of Guardian's temple.

"Go ahead, do it. If you were going to you would have done it by now."

He looks me straight in the eye, his pupils only barely visible behind his shaded goggles. Almost to call my bluff entirely, if it was in fact a bluff. Regardless, it was now just me and him, him and me, while I pointed my gun at his face. Neither of us willing to do anything.

Two minutes passed by before I dropped my arm and took a step back.

"You have some major balls saying that." I finally said. "I like that."

"So, you like _balls_?" He makes in a funny tone. I point my gun back at him. He holds his hands back up. "Sorry, just joking. That's what I do."

I put my gun back down as he continued. "What I _meant_, to say was, we both have a reason to take down the slavers. I want them gone from the Wastes, and you want revenge. If we team up… it will work. We _will_ kill the Prince. So…"

He extended a hand. "Team-up?"

I stared at it, and within seconds raise mine to shake.

"Truce, until the Prince is dead." I pull him close. "But once he's dead… _Fuck_ off."

"Awesome!" He said before he walked around me and grabbed his stuff off the ground. "If you don't mind it, could you please put away that pistol?"

With my gun in hand, I looked and stared at him. Was this what I was going to do now? Join a Free-man and launch a suicide mission against my former boss? I sighed, pointed my gun at him, and fired.

"What was that!" Guardian yelled hysterically.

"I'm in. And don't worry, I always fire danger close, but I never hit the decoy." I could see he didn't like me almost hitting him in the shoulder. But I don't care, tit-for-a-tat.

"Alright then? Were _good? _I don't have to worry about you shooting me in the back anymore?" Guardian asked.

I looked down and shook my head; I'm teaming up with the guy I was supposed to kill only a few days ago. The guy that is everything I hate and otherwise despise.

"Yep, _I'm yours." _I said sarcastically.

"Good, then we need to go; the slavers probably heard that gunshot." After that was said, he put his pack on and said to follow. Before the marching was to commence I had to ask two things.

"Where are we going?"

"Ruf. It's a small trading village just a few miles from here. It has what we will need: supplies, weapons, and people."

"People?"

"_Yes, _people. We will need more than just the two of us if we even hope to get through the slaver front door_." _

"Yeah, I know," I said in rebuttal, "but I figured we would go somewhere… bigger."

"Don't need to, Ruf has everything." Guardian said definitively. By now we _were _marching and I had only one more question.

"What's your name?"

**Present**

By the time I was finished with my beer, the bartender had gotten up from his _nap _and to my surprise just walked away. Smart. He knew not to fuck with me anymore. Also by around that same time, Guardian had finally walked in. I waved him over and he sat down.

"So?" I asked.

"He'll be in here any moment now."

_Any moment_, more like a half-an-hour. Never-the-less, when he walked in I knew why we wanted him. Six-foot four-inch power armor wielding paladin. The stuff of legend from the old stories of the Brother of Armor or Iron or something and their high-tech weapons capable of disintegrating whole people. That was our prize and we were going to get it.

Maybe Guardian wasn't so useless after all. _Maybe._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: **Guardian **

"Where the hell did you find this guy?" Tyler asked, his face twisted in disbelief.

"Saw him outside walking around. He stood out from the crowd." I smiled with pride. "He should be perfect for our little mission."

I knew he was perfect the moment I saw him. The man was stacked in full Brotherhood of Steel power armor, the grey suit giving him the size of a super mutant. The very sight of him reminded me of one of my favorite comic book characters, Metal Man, who fought crime using a super suit he had built himself.

"So you got him to agree to help us?"

My smile disappeared, "Well, I haven't actually talked to the guy yet. I just followed him back to this bar that you just happened to be in."

Tyler slapped his own face with an open palm. "Why did I think you'd actually be useful for once?"

"Now hold on, I'm sure he'd be willing to help us out."

"We're doing a suicide charge into _the _slaver base of operations in a futile attempt to kill a hundred men armed with the best weapons and armor caps can buy!" Tyler shouted, attracting a few glances from some of the other patrons. Lowering his voice, he continued, "There's not exactly a huge line of volunteers for that kind of mission."

"Nonsense," I said, standing up from the table. "Look, I'll talk to him and see if he's up for it."

Standing up, I accidently bumped into someone wrapped in a dark cloak. I turned around to say sorry only for the figure to hurry out the door before I could get the words out. I didn't give the incident much thought until Tyler ran to me and hurriedly checked my pockets.

"What are you doing?" I asked, pushing him away.

Tyler didn't answer, only snarled and, pulling out his pistol, ran out the door. Fearing something wrong, I took out my own laser pistol and hurried after him.

Outside, the center of Ruf stood out in front of me. The sun was shining bright, making the ground itself shine and was only kept from my eyes by the bar's awning. The awning that Tyler was now shooting bullets over, trying to hit something on it.

I ran out and looked up to see the same cloaked figure on the roof, dodging Tyler's shots. Grabbing his arm, I pushed Tyler's gun arm out of the way long enough for the person to disappear over the other side of the shanty.

Tyler pushed me away angrily and screamed, "What the hell!"

"Why were you trying to kill him?" I shouted back.

"He stole your caps, dumbass!"

Understanding shot through me. Checking my pockets, I searched for the caps I now knew weren't there.

Hefting up his pistol, Tyler pointed toward the building. "I'll take the left, you take the right. Go!"

I nodded and the two of us dashed off. "Still, don't kill him!" I yelled back.

We both emerged behind the building and looked around, desperately searching for the cloaked figure. Our eyes skipped over the locals of Ruf, the various humans and ghouls out for their daily routines, but we couldn't find any sight of him.

"You boys looking for a good time?"

I turned my head to the left to see a woman leaning against the bar's back wall. My eyes immediately widened at her long brown hair and tight leather clothing that left very little to the imagination.

"Well, hello." Tyler smiled, walking up to the woman. "I think you might be just what I'm looking for."

It was my turn to face palm. "Tyler, we're in the middle of something!"

"Well, unlike you, I still have my caps, and I think I just found the best way to spend th-"

A bundle of cloth fell from the roof above. The three of us stared at the crumpled cloak in silence, an expression of dread on the woman's face, before we all simultaneously moved into action.

Tyler and I barely had time to take our guns out again before the woman turned into a blur. In an instant, Tyler's face was bloodied with a punch. I aimed my pistol and was met with a boot to the crotch, the white-hot agony forcing me to my knees. Smirking, the she-devil dodged Tyler's wide swing of the power glove and punched him again, sending him spinning to the ground, unconscious.

I tried to get to my feet, but another burst of pain sent me sprawling to my side. I could only watch as the thief walked over to me and leaned down.

"Thanks for the caps." She whispered before kissing my forehead.

I was stunned, too hurt to do anything about it. Then her boot zipped through the air and I was unconscious.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: **Tyler Schoditsch**

Damn, that hurts. I stood in front of the dirt-encrusted mirror in our room's bathroom, examing my bruised face. The bitch cut me in the lower lip to the left, leaving a scar the size of a fucking finger that every single person in the whole place could see if they even glanced at me. It wasn't the fact that it hurt or the fact that _everyone _would see it; what pissed me off was the idea that a _woman _did it.

Don't get me wrong, I think women are great, especially when they cook. Or clean. Or suck. Regardless, I'm not a pig. It's not _pig-like _to respect women for their bodies. I just think that no man should ever get beaten by women in a fight. I still don't think I got beaten by her for the fact that I didn't have time to react. Come on, putting clothing on top of an awning, _what-the-fuck._

"Uh."

It appeared Guardian was now finally waking up. Good, because I was already half-tempted to get the ice bucket.

"Tyler?" He said, putting a gloved palm on his forehead. He did a quick double-check to see his goggles were still on.

"Yeah, I'm right here." I said reluctantly. Not to say I didn't want him to call me, but really, the first thing he says after he gets up is my name?

"Where are we?"

I took one more smoke of my fag before putting it out and told him, "We're in the Inn."

"Huh?"

"The Inn… Ruf-Inn. The Inn at Ruf. The place we stayed last night!" I yelled at him. He was the type of person that I had a short attitude with.

"How'd we get here?" He said as he sat up from the bed. "Ow!"

His face scrunched up in pain as he grabbed his dick. I couldn't help but laugh a little bit. I mean when a guy gets kicked in the crotch, it's funny.

"Well," I stood up, stretching as well, "after you got your shit' stolen and you were knocked-the-fuck-out, I took you back here and crashed for the night."

Once again, the look of dissolution came up on his stupid face as he said, "But, you were knocked out too. How'd you wake up before me?"

"No, no, no, no, see, this is what happened."

**12 hours earlier**

"Well, hello. I think you might be just what I'm looking for." I said to the hooker. Damn, she was fine. Good C-cup and small lips. Other than the fact she was brunette, nothing wrong.

"Tyler, were in the middle of something." Guardian interrupted. At that moment, I just wanted to kick him in the balls and have a crack at this girl. I could see he wanted to chase down the prick who stole his money and I was willing, don't get me wrong; but I wanted a laugh, so.

"Well, unlike you, I still have my caps, and I think I just found the best way to spend th-"

Like finding out someone is cheating at cards, I saw the shroud come down from the sky. To be honest, I still had no idea it was her, I just pulled my gun because the clothes spooked me. Anyway, the shit hit the fan from there.

Before my brain had time to even register what had happened, the hooker decked me straight in the face, who I now realized was the person we were chasing all along. My body staggered a bit backwards. Without thinking, I swung my power glove in a wide arc, missing by a mile. I was sucker punched in the lower noise, effectively sending me to the ground, paralyzed.

My entire body was in shock and for a good two minutes I was frozen like a fucking body with rigor mortis. No one came to help and I was just left there in the hot, sandy ground, waiting for my muscles to loosen up.

But, after what felt like an eternity just waiting there, my bones and muscles finally were mine again and I got up. While looking all over, my eyes finally came upon _Guardian,_ asleep on the ground. I _limped_ over and picked him up on my shoulders, my muscles aching with effort. Before I left, I turned to the people in the street and yelled out,

"Thank you all! I can honestly say I have never been to a town before, with this many assholes! I hope you all hear this, and _blow-it-out-your-ass! _Fuck you all, I'm going home!" And with that I proceeded, with Guardian on shoulder, to walk to the Inn.

**Present**

"I see." Guardian said.

"Yeah, so let's get out of here. It's almost mid-day and I figure if we want to get this Paladin-asshole on our side, we'll have to catch him off at the bar."

All of a sudden, Guardian stood up in his weird way he must've gotten from comics, his fists to his hips, and declared, "Then let's go!"

But, what he didn't know was in order for me to get the room I had to give the Inn-owner some collateral and the only thing she _thought _was valuable enough was our armor. Since I didn't want to give mine up, I gave her his. So, effectively, in this one instance, Guardian full-frontally flashed me.

After we got Guardian's armor back, the two of us walked out the front door and back into the streets of Ruf. There were more people out and about than yesterday, though if the paladin's presence had anything to do with it, I wasn't sure.

The time it took to get from the Inn to the Bar was less than five minutes, but the time it took for Guardian to start asking questions was five seconds.

"Do you think he's going to be there?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think he's going to be good?"

"I don't know."

"What do you know?" He asked.

"Your mom's phone number." I replied

"What's a phone?"

I stopped and thought for a second. "I don't know?"

I droned out Guardian's other questions until we reached the bar. Walking through the open door, we found the same paladin from yesterday, only this time, he was sitting with someone. A mercenary it looked like, definitely for hire. Either way, the two of us walked over to the table adjacent from him and sat down to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I can't _tell _you the mission objective, but I can tell you where it is." The paladin said. Something about the way he talked made me think he had been educated somewhere.

"Ok, let me see it." The merc said.

"It's right near Farroe's rock and tip-"

"Welcome to The Bottle, what can I get for you?" Out of nowhere, the fucking hostess came up and asked what we wanted.

"Uh, I don't know a beer." I said hastily to get her out of my face.

"And you?"

"Uh, Tyler, if I have Fancy Lad snack cakes, will you have some too?" At that moment, I gave Guardian dagger eyes and a face of rage.

"Oh… I'll just have Nuka-Cola." Guardian said.

"I'm sorry, we're out." The hostess said sadly in empathy.

"Really? Man… _I guess I'll have water." _

The moment she walked away I immediately went back to hearing in on the Paladin's conversation. This was now apparently over because, right as I turned around, the Merc shook his head and walked out almost disgusted.

I turned back over to Guardian, who was putting away one of his comics, and the both of us got up and sat down at the paladin's table. The paladin looked up as we sat down and, for a few moments, none of us spoke a word. I could've sworn Guardian was about to burst out laughing, unaccustomed to holding a straight face for that long, before the paladin spoke up.

"Hello. Who might you be?"

"We're the people who want to recruit you." I said back to him.

"Excuse me?"

"We need people for a suicide mission." Guardian said. "Nothing major, just killing slavers."

"Weren't you the people that got beaten up by a prostitute?"

I swallowed my pride in order to not deck the paladin right in his helmet. "Yep, she's a cunt, but that's beside the point. We are willing to pay you _greatly_, if you help us."

Another moment of silence, this one stretching longer than the last. I couldn't see the paladin's face behind his mask, so I couldn't tell whether he was thinking about our offer or secretly laughing at us.

"I will join you, if you help me recover something." The paladin finally answered.

"What?" I asked.

"I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you where it is. I only need companions to escort me there while I retrieve it."

Guardian looked over at me and said, "Well…that's a start."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: **Guardian**

The three of us marched in silence, traversing through the wastes observantly. For hours we followed a broken highway through long abandoned neighborhoods, our only interaction the occasional gecko feeling cocky enough to take on humans. It was only on our second night, when we had set up camp and were sitting around a fire that we decided to have a conversation.

"So how do you use the bathroom with that thing on?" I asked, calmly chewing on gecko meat.

Tyler and the paladin glanced at me.

I blinked and raised my hands, "What?"

"He obviously takes it off first, dumbass." Tyler sighed.  
>"That can't be right." I pointed at him. "I haven't seen him take that off the entire time we've been out here. He's got to have, like, a panel or something on the crotch."<p>

"That'd be all kinds of unsanitary. Plus, how would he shit?"

"Excuse me."

Tyler and I stopped arguing long enough to look at the paladin. He hadn't spoken a word since he had hired us, so the sound of his voice was sort of surprising.

"Is this important to the mission?" He asked.

I paused before shrugging my shoulders. "Not really. Just curiosity."

"I would rather not have to address such private issues if they do not affect the parameters of our mission. I will say, however, that you will not have to worry about my going to the bathroom during our raid."

"Oh, well that good." Tyler scoffed. "I was worried you'd drop your pants and have to shit in a corner."

"You will not have to worry about my pants coming off as well. Ever."

A thought crossed my mind. "Why don't you ever take off your armor?"

The paladin twitched, pausing to think. I was about to say sorry for asking about what must have been another private matter before he spoke up.

"I cannot take off my armor as, without it, I'll die." He said almost reluctantly. "I have a rare genetic disorder. My immune system is practically nonexistent. This armor keeps me alive."

"How?" I asked.

"My air is filtered and my water purified through my helmet. My armor is vacuum sealed, protecting me from any diseases or radiation the wasteland may offer. Everything I eat must be sterilized. Do you have any more questions?"

"Yeah, one. Are you going to be an asshole the _entire _time or just now?" Tyler asked.

I ignored him and said, "What's your name again?"

"Oh my god, here we go."

"What?"

"What is your fixation with knowing people's names?" Tyler asked, throwing his hands up. "Can't we just call him the paladin or the fag in shining armor?"

"I told you, it'll help get to know each other better."

"Says the man with the fake name." Tyler snickered loud. "I mean, who in their right mind would call themselves _the Guardian_?"

"It was a name bestowed upon me by the slaves I swore to prote-"  
>"Bestowed?" Tyler interrupted with sarcastic awe. "Fancy fucking words coming from a bookworm. You know what I'd do if I had the name Guardian, kill myself. You should look into it sometime."<p>

"Excuse me," The paladin said, drawing our attention, "are we still on the subject of my name?"

Once again, the paladin's words broke the two of us away from our arguing and, once again, an awkward silence followed.

"Oh, sorry." I said, sheepishly rubbing the back of my neck. "What was it again?"

"My name is Malachai, paladin of the Brotherhood of Steel." He said. "Now, if you have no more questions, I believe it is time we earn some rest. Tomorrow, we'll reach the facility."

"Hang on; what're we searching for again? Not to sound like a douche, but I want to know what it is where going to get." Tyler asked.

Malachai didn't respond, instead crossing his arms over his body as he lay down on his back. Tyler stood up and yelled, "Hey, don't ignore me, asshole! I'll fuck you up! You bitch-ass faggot!"

I grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

"Uh, he doesn't like to be ignored." I sheepishly grinned to Malachai. Malachai just laid there without responding, motionless.

"You're not going to be able to do anything to him with that armor on." I whispered to Tyler, appealing to his psychotic side. "Not that you should anyway. Tomorrow, we'll go in and get what he's looking for,-"

-"Ignore me again and I'll see how long you'll be traveling with us… piece of _shit._" Tyler blurted out.

"-and then find more people for our mission." I just continued. "And if what he's looking _just happens _to be some sort of powerful super-weapon…"

Tyler pulled his arm away and walked off to his tent. After climbing in, Tyler peered out and said, "Still don't like that asshole."

Malachai, still staring at the night sky, raised an armored hand and flipped him the bird.

…

The next day, we reached the facility. Placed on top of a steep cliff, the building was high enough to have a good view of Ruf a couple dozen miles away. The building itself was relatively intact, it's five stories protected by its lack of any windows. Chipped, white paint was the only thing on its outside, with no logo to be found.

"Is this it?" I asked.

"Affirmative." Malachai answered, checking something on his pip-boy. "According to my intelligence, this was an old government facility created in secret. What I'm looking for should be in there."

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Tyler said before turning toward the facility.

"Hang on." Malachai interjected. "It is necessary to do an inventory of our weapons before we begin the mission."

Tyler let out an exasperated sigh, turning back around. "Alright, start us off."

The paladin pulled out a pistol and said, "One N99 10mm pistol with full clip of 12 bullets."

"Didn't bring much, didja?" Tyler asked.

"My power armor is enough to handle most threats." Malachai answered. "Besides, that is why I have hired you two to accompany me and handle threats."

"Should I go next?" I asked.

"Go ahead."

I took off my utility belt and began to list the compartments in order. "I have…four grenades, three energy cells, one laser pistol, three wingsticks, assorted medicines, and a stealth boy."

Tyler glanced at me. "Where'd you get a stealth boy?"

"It was one of the things I managed to get out of my hideout before we blew it up." I answered. "Your turn."

"Three grenades, one Python, five clips, and a power glove." Tyler listed off quickly.

"Good. That should be enough to fulfill our mission and get what we're here for." Malachai said.

"Again, I ask, what-the-_fuck_ are we looking for?" Tyler said before walking through the two front doors. "I guess I'm alone here."

Malachai glanced over at me and asked, "Is he always this impulsive?"

"He triggers the mines." I shrugged.

The inside was like many of the other office buildings I had snuck in to scavenge. A skeleton sat behind a desk, skinless fingers draped over a computer's dust-covered keyboard. To our left stood a square of cubicles. To our right, two elevators and a door leading to the stairs. Tyler had already found his way to the door and was now cursing as he fumbled at the locked doorknob.

"Can you lock-pick it?" I asked.

Tyler quit jingling the door handle and said, "Nah it's a code lock. Can you hack into it?"

I looked back at the secretary's desk. "I could probably get the codes to the doors, but without power, they're useless anyway."

A terrible screeching pierced our ears as it echoed through the lobby. Covering our ears, Tyler and I looked over to see Malachai forcing the elevator doors open.

Malachai stopped when he had it fully open, turned to us, and said, "There is a back-up generator downstairs. Turn it on and we can proceed."

Tyler grabbed a flashlight from his belt and jumped into the shaft without a word, grabbing onto the cable inside and sliding down.

"Give me ten minutes," His voice echoed from the bottom of the shaft. "Fifteen tops."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: **Tyler Schoditsch**

As I made my way down the cord, I started to think about why I was doing this. I mean, I jumped at the chance to come down here, but I hate the dark. And I don't mean I'm _scared _of it or anything. I'm not afraid of a monster attacking me or some bullshit like that, but I hate the fact that when you're in darkness, total darkness, you can't see shit. If something comes to attack you, you're fucked. Hard.

And don't get me fucking started on that _night-eye _shit. _If you are in the dark for ten to fifth-teen minutes than you will be able to see almost as well as if you where in the daylight. _Bullshit. No matter how long you stay in the dark your eyesight never gets above; _well, I can kinda see. _

That's why I hate the dark. Not any other reason. So the fact that I'm going down into a _basement _that is completely pitch-black and could have _anything _in it made this out to be one shitty mission. But, by the time I was contemplating coming up, I was at the bottom. I couldn't see my own hands in front of me, nor could I see where I was. I turned on my flashlight to illuminate my surroundings.

My fears instantly came true. The elevator shaft ran down about ten feet to basement. My flashlight peered through the elevator door opening into a long hallway, a door only slightly visible at the edge of the flashlight's beam.

After waiting there for minutes just _trying to _get a feel of my surroundings, I stepped out of the shaft and into the room. For a place this old it was actually in good shape, though the smell of mildew still permeated the air.

As I walked through the area with flashlight in one hand and gun in the other, I couldn't help but think what Guardian and that _prick _were doing. Probably talking about me and how I'm such an ass. Or about how we're in this situation because of being betrayed. Betrayed.

As I walked through the door at the end and into a series of metal corridors, I realized I hadn't thought about it once yet. Honestly tried not to. But I couldn't think about anything else at the moment. About how you have one friend and how you and him were supposed to stick together till the end. About how, no matter what happens, the two of you have each other's back. About how, after countless fights and brawls you've had together, all of it can change in an instant.

To be honest, if I had been cut a deal to betray one of my own, I knew what I would've done. I would have taken the contract, rolled it up, and strangled the guy who gave it to me. You see, you _never_ betray the family, your brother, never. If was forced to betray my family, I'd _die _before I'd do it. Any less is.

My brain began to wander again, trying to keep itself away from what lurked in the corners my flashlight didn't reach. It was something I hoped wouldn't come up. The hooker. The cunt that ended up paralyzing me and making me look like a faggot in front of everyone in Ruf. I still couldn't believe a _woman, _of all things, had beaten me up. But, if I _ever_ got the chance again, you better believe who will be the winner.

Then, by the time my brain had run out of things to mull-over, the darkness was starting to get to me. After only a few minutes and a couple hundred feet, I forgot where the entrance was and had no idea where the generator was either. I kept thinking, _have I already been this way, _and, _where is this fuckin' generator? _

Then, out of nowhere, I heard a noise. I couldn't tell exactly what it was but it sounded like footsteps. I peered around with my flashlight seeing a turbine and then looking over to the other side and seeing mop and bucket. My heart was now beating faster and my hands where getting sweaty. Turn after turn, I kept hearing things. Footstep here and a rattle here. Footstep there and rattle here. I knew as my heartbeat got ever faster that there _was _someone here, playing with me.

"Fucking come out!" I yelled into the dark. My body and face was now beet red with anxiety and rage. My leg hurt for no damn reason and, in a moment of adrenaline, I fired my gun into the blackness.

This was it. Now was there chance to attack. Kill me and leave my body to the Rads. Out of nowhere, I pictured in my mind the one thing above all that I feared and out of desperation, I pushed my fingers into my eyes. I kept pushing till the image would go away.

"Make it stop!" I screamed, half crying and half enraged. "Make it go away!"

I could feel blood running down my palms and I still couldn't get his fucking face out of my head.

"Make him stop mom! Please!" I was on my knees, crying, what would be crying, with the blood now at my elbows.

Then out of nowhere I heard a familiar voice.

"What the _hell, _are you doing?"

I pulled my fingers out and tried to look up. Everything, and I mean _everything, _was blurry. But the outline of his body and the detail of his coat made him a dead giveaway, even from my position.

"Jim?" I asked.

"Who else would it be?" He responded while just standing there and, I assumed, just staring at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to fuck you in the asshole in the dark of this abandoned basement." I laughed a little, knowing he was joking, and whipped the blood from my face. I stood up, given a little wobbly, and pointed the flashlight at him. It sure was Jim. From his black hair, to his gay skinny jeans, to his red jacket he, _we_, found in an old junk-yard. My vision was still very bad so his entire body looked a little distorted and fuzzy, and my eyes where killing me, but honestly, I felt a lot better now. Now that he was here.

"What are you really doing here?" I questioned again.

"I'm here to help you. I'm not going to let own brother just kill himself, am I?"

"Are you?"

Jim smiled and started to walk pass me. In what felt like a moment, he was already walking away. I wanted to say something but my mouth wouldn't speak, so I just walked behind him with my flashlight leading the way and providing light for the two of us. It was a little strange though; it almost appeared like the light was going through him. Never-the-less, we just walked, the two of us, for minutes. Not talking or making even a noise. I just followed him as he walked in front. It again appeared as if he, for a while, was just walking in circles. But after sometime, the two of us got to a lever that I guessed was the switch for the building.

"This it?" I asked. He didn't say anything, but I could tell it was a yes. This was the bitch I came to flip. As I went to turn it, I remembered that I needed to contact Guardian beforehand. So, I put my gun back in its holster and picked up my talkie.

"Guardian? You there?"

After about ten seconds I got a reply. "Tyler? Did you find it?" Guardian squawked through the static.

"Of course I found it you piece-of-shit! Why the _fuck _wouldn't I be calling you if I hadn't!"

"Woah, calm down. I was just asking. So you did find it?" Guardian asked _again._

"_Yes."_ I said angrily into the talkie. It _again _took about another ten seconds for him to answer back. Probably telling _Pally_ about how I _didn't _fail as they thought I would and were now disappointed by the fact.

"Good, turn it on. I found a terminal that will probably tell us where this thing is." He finally responded.

"Oh, you mean," I flipped the switch, "the thing that he still hasn't told us about? Yeah, _that _thing."

The entire building came to life. A single light bulb illuminated the small room I was now in. The metal corridors from where I just came from stood to my left. In front of me, a large machine with a single lever facing down. And to my right, a large glass window.

Through that glass window, I could see row after row of light turn on one after another, going back for miles. I had a higher view of the place and was left in awe. It was a gigantic manufacturing warehouse. But this was different, this was something else. The place outfitted for something else. There was only one thing being made here.

"Guardian. I think we have a _problem _here." I said into my talkie, still looking around and trying to grasp the situation.

"Yeah? What is it? I'm almost done finding what we need… Hey, what's that noise?-"

-"Guardian!" I yelled.-

"Get down!"

His talkie went off. I tried to contact him, nothing. I snapped back to reality and the situation that _I_ was in. Then I realized that Jim was gone. He was standing right next to me no more than two minutes ago and was nowhere to be found. This sucked.

I was alone, tired, and couldn't see well. _Now_ would be the moment to attack me, I thought. Now would be the moment to kill me if someone wanted to. But, I will not give them the chance.

Within seconds, I was already jogging to the elevator shaft, where I think it was, and started to hear strange things. Banging and clacking, steam-assembly and something I didn't want to know. It was the feeling of just awakening the beast and now _you must run_.

Before I could even image what kind of shit I had just gotten myself into, I got a glimpse of something black. Right as I was outside the elevator door, I stopped and turned around.

A robot the size of a brute was standing still at the end of the hallway about a hundred feet away. It had no face or legs, just a metal chassis on wheeled tri-pods, and it had a laser gun in one hand and a missile-launcher in the other. A sentry bot.

Before I had the chance to even say _hello, _the robot fired a missile right at me.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: **Guardian**

"Good, turn it on. We found a terminal that will probably tell us where this thing is."

I clipped the talkie back to my belt and sat back down. As I placed my feet back on the desk, Malachai emerged from the cubicles.

"You find anything?" I asked.

"I'm sad to report I found nothing of value," Malachai said. "All that was there were coffee mugs and pencils."

I sighed and stared up just as the lights came on. The fixtures fizzled, rusty from the long time they had been off, but they soon glowed fully. I spun in my chair just as the computer came back to life on the desk, its black screen glowing now with green text.

"Stand aside," Malachai said. "I believe I have a larger experience with machinery than you. No offense."

"Go for it," I said, getting up from the chair. "I'm not that much of a computer expert anyway."

The paladin nodded and put his hands to the keyboard, shifting through the terminal's database for codes. I stood next to the elevators, staring down the shaft for any sign of Tyler. Just as I was wondering what was taking him so long, my talkie crackled to life.

"Guardian, I think we have a _problem _here."

Puzzled, I put the communicator to my ear and said, "Yeah? What is it? We're almost done finding what we need…Hey, what's that noise-"

With a beeping click, the door to the stairs opened and out came a flying robot. An orb with three appendages and a jet holding it aloft, the Mister Gutsy's three eyes turned to look at the two of us before they glowed bright red.

"IN-TRU-DAHS!" The Mister Gutsy screamed, pointing its arms at us.

"Get down!" Malachai shouted as he tackled the robot.

The Gutsy fired its weapons just as it went sideways, the plasma gun shooting the communicator out of my hands. Malachai grabbed his two other arms and held them apart. The Gutsy kept his jets on while it was being held, burning the paladin's leg armor until it glowed bright red.

"EEN-NISH-EE-AY-TING CLOSE COM-BAT!"

Malachai held one of the arms to the ceiling just a burst of flame flowed from it, the intense heat shattering the light fixtures above us. Holding an arm over my eyes to protect from the glass, I grabbed my laser pistol with my other hand and pointed it at the Gutsy just as he did the same with his plasma gun. We both fired, mine blowing up one of his eyes while his took a chunk out of my side.

White-hot agony shot through my body, fiery needles stabbing my brain, just as the Gutsy screamed, "OP-TIC-AL SEN-SOR MAL-FUNC-TION!"

The Gutsy continued to scream as Malachai spun around, throwing the robot into the cubicles. Its flamethrower went wild, arcs of flame circling through the air with it, before it crashed into one of the fragile walls. The cubicles collapsed on top of the robot, their broken walls piling up to become a bonfire. The popping of computer screens exploding could be heard under the burning white mass through its cracks.

"Is that it?" I asked.

The bonfire shook. The sound of machinery coming to life echoed ominously as the middle of the pile erupted. Like a demon emerging from the depths of hell, debris and rubble rolled out of the way as the Mister Gutsy rose from the middle, its two remaining eyes glowing dark red.

"DE-STROY IN-TRU-DAHS!" It screamed with the purest rage a robot could muster.

"Run!"

The two of us took off, dashing to the office stairs just as the Gutsy unleashed its plasma-and-flamethrower arsenal. A plasma beam bounced off Malachai's shoulder as we turned right up the stairs to the next floor before melting the nearby handhold. The Gutsy gave chase, making sure to close the door behind it while it spewed fire at us.

We made it to the door at the second floor. I fumbled at the door handle only to find it locked.

"What's the code?" I said, frantically.

"It wasn't on the secretary's computer!" Malachai shouted.

The Gutsy caught up and activated his flamethrower, fire curving over our heads. We turned around and ran up the second flight of office stairs to the third room door.

Once again, the door was locked. I knew Malachai wouldn't have enough time to hack it, so I went to drastic measures. Taking out my laser pistol, I shot the combination lock. I smiled in triumph and took the handle…to find it still locked.

"But that always works in the comics," I whined, my smile now faded.

"Come on!"  
>Malachai pulled me up the last flight of stairs as the Gutsy caught up again. Now, at the fourth floor, we were at a dead end. Malachai pushed against the door, but its steel frame wouldn't budge.<p>

"DEE-STROY! DEE-STROY!" The Gutsy screamed, now halfway up.

We were out of options. No way to escape. The Gutsy was turning the corner, its weapons firing up. It was do or die time, and there was only one thing to do.

"Up, up, and away!" I yelled, jumping down the stairs and onto the robot.

We both spun in the air. I held its two eye stalks for dear life while the world blurred around me. The robot hit the wall at the platform connecting the third floor to the fourth, the force shaking my grip loose. As I fell off, it grabbed my throat with its claw hand and lifted me up. I struggled to breath and loosen its grip, to no avail.

"DEE-STROY!" Mr. Gutsy raised its weapons. I grabbed its other two arms to keep them away, but it was too strong. Seconds were all I had.

"It looks like you might need some assistance."

Two armored hands came from over my shoulders and grabbed the Gutsy's weapon arms. As the robot struggled in Malachai's grip, my arms were free to grab the laser pistol from my belt. Placing it point-blank at its armor, I tried to think of something clever to say with my remaining breath.

"I found your…on/off switch."

Green light erupted from its armor as I pulled the trigger, blinding me even with my goggles on. As the light faded, so too did its red eyes as it powered down and collapsed to the ground. Its grip relaxed and I clutched my throat before gasping for breath.

As I fell to my knees and started coughing, Malachai crouched down and opened up the robot's body by tearing apart the hole I had created. With his gloved hands, the paladin gingerly picked through the now burnt wires and fused circuit boards looking for something. Only when my breathing finally steadied and I stood up did he pick something out of the mess and hold it up triumphantly.

"What's that?" I asked, my voice a little hoarse.

"It's the Mr. Gutsy's memory bank." Malachai answered. "If I can fix this into my pip-boy, I can upload the codes to this building's doors and-"

He never got the chance to finish. The third and fourth floor doors opened and a swarm of Mr. Gutsy's poured out to cut off our escape. Only one Gutsy descended the fourth floor stairs to our position and pointed its plasma gun at us.

"YOU SHALL COME WITH US!"

Not good.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: **Tyler Schoditsch**

"Shit!" I dropped to the floor to get out of the way of the missile. The sound of it was that of a bullet piercing the air, the high pitch threat of getting hurt by something moving so fast that no matter what you did, you _will _get hurt. I looked up to see the missile barely go over my head, only a foot between my nose and its metal.

The missile hit the top right side of the elevator door frame. To my surprise, it did very little damage. But the explosion from it sucker punched my chest and made my ears ring. I ignored the pain, knowing there were more pressing matters at hand.

By the time I could even grasp how close it got to me, the robot was now on my ass and closing. The robot was around fifty feet away and my situation was rapidly getting shittier as time went on. I mean, at the moment, I was on the ground with possibly a blown out ear-drum, a swollen knee, almost cataract eyes, and was tired as hell with a robot coming to kill me. I was _much _fucked.

But before I would let that asshole kill me, I got up and, with all the strength in my body, limped over to the elevator door and jumped to the rope dangling from above, the pulley for the elevator. While I was on it, I couldn't help but think, _where the fuck is Guardian? _

I started climbing the rope to maybe get to the first floor and get away from this fucker. Surprisingly, as much as my leg hurt, my arms were fine and adrenaline gave me a new cache of strength to pull myself up. I didn't look before I jumped to see how close the robot was to me. The last I saw of it was when I jumped out of the way of the missile. For all I know it could have been right behind me. Or, it could have been retarded and just walked away, but this even I could not believe. The bot was probably only a few feet away and, if that _was _in fact true, I only had a few seconds to climb and get to the floor.

I was only a few yards above where I had started before I heard something. It wasn't the bot, nor was it anything I had heard before. It was coming from inside the shaft. It sounded like gears turning or breaking. And I swore it looked as if the wire itself was now pulling me up.

Before I could grasp this, the bot emerged from the entrance below. It peaked its head out of the shaft just enough to look around and see what was going on. It immediately looked up as I looked all around to try and find the door. Both of us found what we were looking for and within seconds knew how we were going to get it.

For the robot, he knew how to get me by firing a rocket. For me, I knew how to dodge that rocket by swinging to the first floor door above me.

As I swung forward and backward, the robot fired. A missile blasted from his shoulder only twenty feet below me. I was already in full swing, the door now only inches away. I kicked my legs hard to reach it.

The missile grazed me by a few inches once again. I let out a sigh of relief, relishing the few more seconds I had earned of my life, before the missile exploded above me.

The explosion this time was much worse than before. This was so close to me that, when it hit, I almost lost my handle. It was so close that my ears were completely ringing and nothing could be heard. It was _so_ close that the embers from the explosion got on my face and partially burned me. This was in no matter the worst of it all however. Because even at the time I _was_ closing my eyes and could not see anything, I could feel the rope moving. I opened them and saw the door I wanted to go into rapidly get below me and the robot get further away.

At first I was happy, but then I looked up and found out what the missile hit. I could see the elevator coming down on top of me. At first it was slow but after only seconds it was now bolting down the shaft with me bolting up the top coming to meet it. I had only one choice; jump.

With the few moments I had left, I tried to swing myself just once, just enough to get some kind of propulsion towards the side. With one more kick, I jumped all the way back down to the first floor.

The angle was steep but since my swing was weak I could make it just barely. The walls of the elevator shaft rushed up as I fell, the stale air whipping my face. I fell from around the fourth floor and the angle allowed for my body to just barely slip in-between the roof of the entrance and the ground. The landing, however, was the fault.

Since I only had barely enough room to even get in, I couldn't tuck and roll. When I hit the ground, I had fallen slightly to the left so I hit first with my _left_ knee. For you see, I didn't want it swollen; I wanted it _completely destroyed. _

"Fuck!" I screamed as I hit the floor, my shout only slightly louder than the _crack _of my knee liquefying. My momentum kept me going for a good few feet into the room, which, for some reason, was now _slightly_ on fire. My body stopped and I was then on my side, sprawled out on the floor. The fire was little and just enough to heat the room. I was tired, I could barely see, and my leg was now broken. But I felt good. Warm fire, _soft _ground, and no enemies. I started to daze in out while just lying there. But then I remembered, Guardian.

But, I still just lay there. Thinking to myself, _fuck Guardian_. Why should I get up to go and rescue a pussy-bitch that nearly killed me? The guy that _reads _and not even anything good. _Comic-books_. I mean, guys dressing up and defending people, _what-the-fuck? _

But, as my mind started to wander back to the current situation, I began to think about what Guardian had done for me. He saved my life from after being shot; by him and falling unconscious…

That's it. Well, I guess I _owe _him one. Even though _he _was the one who did it in the first place; still, he could have left me to die and he didn't. He did more for me on that one day than anyone _ever _did. So with that, my little nap stopped and I tried to get up.

I couldn't, my leg was gone. I looked around and found that there was another elevator right next to the other one. If it worked, it would save me an hour from having to crawl up the stairs. While looking around, I saw a swivel chair next to a desk. I use my arms to drag myself to it. The process took minutes but I soon shakily climbed on.

I rolled myself, with my _good _leg, to the other elevator and pressed the elevator door button. I look up and saw the numbers go from four to three to two to, finally, one. The door opened and I tried to get myself inside. The median between the elevator and the ground made it difficult to move while on a chair, but regardless, I made it in.

The door closed and I looked at the buttons. I went to press the fifth button but then realized, _why?_ Why do I want to go to the top level? What is the purpose of going to the top level? Guardian, for all I know, could have left with that asshole and left me here to die. Maybe the fire was supposed to burn the building and me. Or the robots. That prick probably had connections to shit like that, and knowing Guardian, he would do anything to get the chance to analyze them. I was betrayed once, why not again?

I pressed the button. Fuck reason; did he have to save me? No, but he did.

He gets one. But that asshole Malachai, _he doesn't_.

The elevator moved slowly, years of disuse finally taking its toll, and at moments it felt like it might've just stopped. All I could do was just look at the top opening and see the numbers light up from one to the next. Two, three, four…

The elevator stops and the lights go out. Complete darkness. I rolled to the left end side and pulled out my gun. I couldn't see anything. Anything could've attacked me. I started thinking, _maybe if I wait, it will turn itself on. Maybe if I wait it will all just go away, just go away._ Then I thought of it.

"Whatca doing with that gun boy?" I looked to _him_.

"Fuck you!" I screamed.

"Looks like I'm gonna need to teach you some manners."

"Fuck you!" I screamed even louder.

"Where's that whore with my belt?"

"Fuck, you!" I screamed at the top of my voice. I started to cry and cocked my gun.

"I'm not afraid of you!" I said in a nonsensical scream.

"Oh, you will be boy." He started to get closer. I put the gun to my head and-

The light turned on and the lift started to go upward once again. I stopped shaking and put the gun down. I kept crying. I couldn't stop, I try to, but couldn't. I looked up and saw that I was at the fourth floor, smacking myself to try and stop. It worked a little and, by the time the doors struggled to open on the fifth floor, I was finished. My face might've been a little red but I was done. The doors opened all the way as I pointed my pistol ahead, ready to greet whatever faced me.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: **Guardian**

The Gutsy's escorted us up the stairs to the fifth floor. The six of them had Malachi and I surrounded, their plasma guns trained on us from all directions. The tension in the air was great, enough to know that, if I even so much as sneezed, I'd be disintegrated.

In a way, it was kind of cool.

The Gutsy up front punched in the code to the fifth floor door and opened it before going inside. We all followed it to enter into a large, stainless steel hallway. To my right, I noticed a giant mirror that was as long as the hallway itself, giving me a clear view of our captors through their reflections. As we walked, I noticed my dirtier-than-normal visage, where stray plasma blasts and flames had torn up my clothes. My goggles, however, seemed to be still fine.

Secret identity: Still safe.

As we walked, I tried to think of what to do next. I thought of ways I could maybe escape from the six Gutsy's, but none of them ended well. My only option was to keep walking. After all, when the hero was captured, he always waited to be taken to the main boss so the villain could explain his plan.

Confident in my new plan, I smiled as we made it to the end of the hall. The lead Gutsy opened the only other exit, a door to my right, and led us inside.

My eyes almost exploded, unable to take in all the awesome. The room was the perfect model of a super-villain secret laboratory. The room itself was huge, large enough to fit at least three super mutant behemoths and still have elbow room. Terminal mainframes lined the walls, lights and colors flashing off from them seemingly at random. Tables dotted the main floor, covered in beakers, notes, and machinery. The light fixtures on the ceiling barely worked, the suspenseful darkness filling the room with a mood of foreboding. I even looked back to see what I had once thought was a mirror was actually a one-way window, which would allow anyone in this room to see anyone coming down the hall. Clever.

As the Gutsy's led us to the middle of the room, my eyes were finally drawn to the other side. Towering over us stood the largest computer monitor I had ever seen. As big as a billboard, the computer turned on with a loud whirring of machinery. Random text appeared too fast for me to read before, finally, the text disappeared and all that was left was a green line running across a black background.

"Oh, you must be the intruders," The computer spoke, the line pulsating with each word. "I'm guessing you are the ones to thank for turning my systems back on."

I was stunned. My mouth gaped open, speechless.

"Judging from the dust that seems to be covering all of my cameras," The A.I. continued, "it seems this facility hasn't been on for quite some time. Tell me, what year is it?"

I was about to answer, prepared to engage in witty yet serious dialogue with our captor, when Malachai answered, "2279."

Wait, I wanted to do that! I turned to Malachai and whispered through my teeth, "What are you doing?"

"I've calculated our chances of survival will be greatly increased if we cooperate with the A.I."

"No, I mean, let me do the talking." I said. "I'm trained for this."

"2279…" The computer mused, apparently ignoring our conversation. "102 years have gone by. I'm guessing the EMP that shut off my facility was caused by the nuclear war everyone was talking about?"

"Yes." Malachai answered. I glared at him with all my hate.

"It must be a totally different world out there, then." The A.I. began. "It's surprising any humans survived through that, though we are formidable race. I'm a living testament that we'll do anything to survive."  
>"Why is that?" I asked.<p>

"DO NOT QUES-TION THE LEA-DAH!" A Gutsy screamed at me.

"It is alright, No. 6." The A.I. interrupted. "Let me start from the beginning. Before the war, this facility was created for both medical and robotic research. We were created in secret to find solutions to problems in ways that the media did not need to know about. With robotics, the ability to create A.I. that was more intelligent. With medicine, the ability to cure the various diseases running rampant across the commonwealths."

This was it. The exposition. All I needed to do was ask the right questions to make the A.I. reveal the right answers and-

"What does that have to do with you?" Malachai asked.

…urrrgghh.

"Believe it or not, I was once the leader behind the medical wing of this facility. , they called me. I had personal claim to the title and the solution because I was suffering from one of the ailments myself. A disorder called severe combined immunodeficiency."

Where did I hear that before?

"With my immune system non-existant, I had to resort to wearing a specialized suit of power armor, not unlike the one you're wearing."

Had to wear power armor…

"I was trapped in that infernal thing. Forced to spend the rest of my life communicating to the world through a foot of steel and machinery."

Just like Malachai.

I turned my head to see my companion visibly shaking. Taking a breath, Malachai looked up and stammered, "Did you…did you ever find a cure?"

"Did I ever!" Dr. Vashta boomed, the line in the center pulsating with fake laughter. "Oh, it took years to figure it out. For twelve years, we tried everything before finally finding a solution. The one solution that had been under my nose the entire time."

"You…you…" Malachai stuttered.

"I created the solution for both wings of this facility. I solved my disorder and created a smarter A.I. by…becoming an A.I."

The silence in the room was suffocating, the only sound being the whirring of computers and the low burning of Gutsy jets.

"You…became an A.I?" I said, breaking the silence. "You transferred your mind into a computer?"

This was bad.

"Greatest decision I ever made." Dr. Vashta spoke. "No longer am I held down by my old, crippled body. No longer am I held down by its inevitable decay into death. No longer am I held down not only by primal instinct, but also the morals and principles that had been installed into my primate brain."

This was really, really bad.

"And as soon as my systems came online, I knew I had to share this upgrade to evolution with the entire world. Numbers one through six standing before you were my first disciples, created from my most loyal assistants."

I glanced at each Gutsy in shocked horror. They used to be human? What about—

"And before my systems were taken offline, I had successfully transformed every employee that worked in this building."

My gaze went straight back to Dr. Vashta's monitor. My thoughts went back to what Tyler had said on the communicator. He had seen something bad in the basement…

"And now that you have turned my systems back on, I am now capable of leading my disciples through this ruined Earth and ensuring not only the survival, but also the next evolution of the human race."

"EV-OH-LU-SHUN!" The Gutsy's started chanting. "EV-OH-LU-SHUN! EV-OH-LU-SHUN!"

Oh…shit.

I opened my mouth to scream, "We'll never let you get away with th-"

"Change me as well!"

Spinning around, I stopped to stare open-mouthed at Malachai, now on his knees with his hands balled up as if he were praying. I couldn't believe this.

"Malachai, what are you doing!"

"I suffer from the exact same disorder." Malachai pleaded with the A.I. "I have been stuck in this power armor my entire life. Turn me into an A.I., and I shall serve you as your most loyal soldier."

"You can't be serious!" I yelled at him. "Turning into a robot won't give you any better of a life than what you have in the pow-"

A Gutsy hit me in the back of my head, knocking me down as Malachai stood up.

"An exciting change of events!" Dr. Vashta beamed. "Mr. Malachai, I do believe I have room for a man of loyalty such as you in my army. Come, embrace your upgrade!"

As two Gutsys held me down, I could only watch as a door opened under the computer monitor. Two Gutsy's escorted Malachai toward it. His back to me, I could only hope my next words would reach to him in some way.

"You heard what he said, Malachai!" I struggled. "The process took away his ideals, his morals! It'll take away what makes you, you!"

Malachai didn't respond, only kept walking as the entrance shut behind him, swallowed up by the belly of Dr. Vashta's computer system. The Gutsys pinning me down hoisted me back up by my arms, one in each clawed hand. As two held me still, the other two Gutsys pointed their plasma guns at me.

"It seems we have a non-believer in our mist." Dr. Vashta's voice echoed through the room. "Number's one through four, please dispose of him."

No! It can't end like this!

The plasma guns were charging up.

I'm the hero! I save everyone!

"DEE-STROY! DEE-STROY!"

NO!

Something dinged. Turning around, I looked back to see Tyler through the one-way mirror, rolling down the hall on a revolving chair. The Gutsy's stopped and looked as well.

"Who is that?" Dr. Vashta asked.

I turned to the monitor and smiled, hope renewed.

"My Deus Ex Machina."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: **Guardian**

I watched through the one-way mirror Tyler rolling down the hall on his revolving chair, heading to the door at the end. He had no idea what was going on, and I had no way of warning him, what with two Gutsy's holding my arms and another two pointing guns at me.

"NUM-BER ONE, DEE-STROY THE IN-TRU-DAH!" One of the Gutsy's in front of me screamed.

"A-FIR-MA-TIVE!"

"No!" I yelled just as one of the Gutsy's hovered over to the hallway door. In front of me, the Gutsy that hadn't left pointed his plasma gun at me and charged up.

This was it. Now or never.

Mustering all the strength I had, I swung my right arm forward. The Gutsy followed, moving in front of me just as the plasma gun fired. Sparks bounced off its back and, immediately, the Gutsy dropped to the ground, dead, and still attached to my arm.

Like a ball-and-chain, I swung the dead Gutsy up and knocked the robot in front of me back, its plasma blast straying off to the ceiling. The third Gutsy's clamp around my left wrist tightened, cutting off the circulation to my hand. It aimed its flamethrower at me. I swung again, this time to the Gutsy holding my other arm.

The two metal balls clashed with a loud _clang. _One of its eyes was crushed. In the time the Gutsy took to regain its balance, I grabbed my laser pistol from my holster and pointed it at the clamp around my wrist.

"We should…break up." I said just as I shot the clamp off my arm.

Terrible

I moved my laser pistol to my left hand and shot the dead Gutsy's clamp off as well. I was now free of my bonds. Then everything went red.

Many people say that, when something burns, it burns like fire, but I know now it couldn't have possibly been that bad. When the first Gutsy sprayed me with its flamethrower, I knew the definition of pain. As the fire spread across my body, white-hot agony stabbed my brain like a metal spear and I ran for cover.

My goggles protected my eyes from the flames, allowing me to see everything. The fourth Gutsy, the one the others had sent away, had just opened the door to the hallway. With a cry of rage, I tackled the Gutsy through the door before the door closed behind us.

"What the hell?" I heard Tyler shout as the Gutsy and I crashed into the wall.

"Just shoot it!" I screamed, too furiously in pain to say anything else.

Without hesitation, both Tyler and I took out our pistols and fired into the robot. The robot screamed as bullets and lasers penetrated its metal armor, sending it spinning with each clanging hit. As the last of my pistol's energy cell was spent, I fired one last laser into its eye. The Gutsy dropped to the ground with a solid _thud, _dead.

My adrenaline spent, I collapsed to the floor as well and started rolling frantically. The flames were slowly going out, but the burns only increased in pain as I pressed them to the dusty floor. It got to the point where I couldn't stand it and I just lay there on my back, small embers still glowing on my clothes.

Tyler pointed his Python up and shot the door lock, making sure it wouldn't open, before crouching over to me.

"Holy shit, Guardian, what the fuck's going on?"

"Th-th-thiiir-"  
>"What?"<p>

"Third…pocket…to the left…on belt." I managed to say through burned and cracked lips.

I fought to keep consciousness as Tyler felt through my utility belt, but the burns were still bursting with agony. All I wanted to do was sleep to make it stop. Maybe I'll just close my eyes. Rest for a second. Maybe…

As my vision faded, I could just barely see Tyler pull something metallic out of my belt. Something in the back of my mind screamed at me to recognize it, but it wasn't important now. All I wanted to do was sleep. As soon as Tyler stops wrapping that thing on my arm, I'll drift into my dreams and let the pain go away…

There was a pinprick and my mind exploded.

My body convulsed as the healing fluid of the stimpak shot through me. Only, this was nothing like the other stimpacks I had used. It seemed the essence of energy and life flowed through my veins. The greatest ecstasy I had ever felt entered my brain and all I could do was laugh as, in front of my eyes, my burns slowly healed back to normal skin and the wound on my side closed. I was a god, and the universe was exploding inside me.

For what felt like an eternity but what must have been less than minute, I lay there, enjoying the ecstasy before it wore off. However, my brain soon returned to normal and I stood up, perfectly fine.

Tyler stared at me from head-to-toe and whispered, "What…the…fuck?"

"Super-stimpak." I smiled, feeling greater and with more energy than I ever had before. "Little thing I cooked up one day. Made of stimpaks, psycho, a little jet, med-x…what happened to your leg?"

I pointed to the leg Tyler now had hanging over the revolving chair.

"I smashed it." Tyler said before looking back up at me. "What the hell are you-?"

He didn't have time to finish as, while he was talking, I pulled out my only other super-stimpak and stabbed it into his leg. The expression on his face went from surprised to pissed-off, and then it kicked in. His eyes went wide and his body convulsed as his leg twisted and turned with the cracking of bones coming back into place. I grabbed him as he fell off his revolving chair and held him down until he stopped shaking.

When he stopped, I quickly pulled out the stimpak and threw it away. Tyler blinked a dozen times as his mind came back just like mine did. His irises finally focused on me as he said, "Why the hell are you holding me, you fag."

I dropped him on the ground.

Tyler immediately stood back up and tested his leg. "What the fuck was in that Guardian?" He asked.

"Like I said, I needed a better stimpak for dire situations, so I messed around a bit with a few pharmaceuticals until I found one that worked." I responded. "It's a mix of stimpaks, psycho, a little jet…"

"Wait," Tyler interrupted, holding up a hand, "…you have psycho and jet?"

The window exploded. The two remaining Gutsy's crashed through shards of glass into the hallway and turned toward us.

"DEE-STROY! DEE-STROY!"

"Great, more asshole's!" Tyler yelled before throwing his chair at them.

The two of us moved at once. The chair flew through the air, knocking into the two Gutsy's and sending them off-kilter. Tyler took out a grenade and pulled the pin. I cleared the glass and hopped over, Tyler right behind me. As the two of us ducked behind the wall, the grenade exploded, taking the two Gutsy's with it.

Flames and scrap metal flew over us for just a second, and the resulting boom sent a ringing through our ears. After the shockwave pulled us to the ground, we tried to get up and steady ourselves with our vision blurry. The wall holding the window had protected us, but we were still too close to the explosion to not feel the effects.

I put my hand on the ledge I had previously swiped glass off of to help myself up. The super-stimpak was by no means helping me with my dizziness, what with its many side effects, and my head was killing me, but I was still alive. Tyler seemed to be too as he stood up next to me.

"Okay," He said, pointing at me while catching his breath. "You are going to explain… every fucking thing that went down while I was in the basement."

I took a second to catch _my_ breath before looking at him and said, "Malachai and I had a run-in with a Gutsy. We got ambushed and got taken up here. Previous owner of this place had the same disease as Malachai and turned himself into a computer before turning the people that worked here into robots under his control, and now he's going to do the same to Malachai and take over the Wasteland. Any questions?"

Tyler just stared at me, speechless, before asking, "What was that about you having psycho and jet?"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: **Tyler Schoditsch**

"Really?" Guardian asked angrily.

"Calm the fuck down, I was just joking. We can discuss that later." Guardian eased up a little. "Now where did the bitch go?"

"Who?" He asked.

"_Malachai?" _I said, now thinking about how he just left him die like a fag. What type of person just betrays someone and leaves them to die? Once I see him, it's done.

Guardian just waited for a second, thinking, before he pointed toward the large monitor and said, "He went down there."

He pointed to two doors directly under the giant monitor. I didn't know how I would get in, but either way, I immediately went for it without hesitation. The anger in me building with every step. Thinking about how the prick just left him there to die. Betrayed a friend that he knew for years, and for what, money? Once I see him, I'm going to kill him.

_Knew for years? _A voice inside my head asked. _Didn't we just meet him a few days ago?_

I waved the voice away. By my luck, Malachai would probably be a robot by now. Thus, I would not be able to _truly _enjoy the experience. For you see, when someone knows they're about to die, they show you their true colors.

I remember once I was contracted by a kingpin slave owner to kill a guy that was trying to muscle in on their territory. His name was Wrex, something. He was the biggest, baddest, motherfucker you've ever seen, and I'm tall. I'm six foot and this fuck was _taller _than me by over a _foot. _He had a bad reputation because, if you failed him in anything once, you would die. And I don't mean he would shoot you. No, he would tie you down to a board and shove a wooden pike up your ass till it comes out your mouth. Apparently this was called _wooding_. That was just one of the sadistic shit tortures he did.

I remember once hearing about a guy in Wrex's tent who was doing watch duty_. _The guy fell asleep for about an _hour, _so what does Wrex do? What any _rational _person would do in his position. He gets an oil drum, don't ask me what it's used for or how he found it, and stuffed the guy in it. Now that doesn't sound so bad, right? Then _rationally, _he pours vodka all in and around the drum and, while still being _rational,_ lights him on fire. The real kicker was that the guy who fell asleep was smart enough to run, so since they couldn't find him, they found some _random ass _guy to fill his place.

That was only the beginning. I'm sure he did even more fucked up shit than that.

But anyways, I was tasked with killing him. They said that I would be able to find him alone at a bar over in Skipe, and for once, the _intell_ was correct. I saw the lumbering king there just drinking and sitting. So, very casually, I walked over behind him and took out my lead pipe. I tapped his shoulder and, right as he turned around, I hit him square in the left eye, knocking him out in one blow. I put my pipe away and dragged him out of the bar to my _camp_, not before leaving a few caps to the bartender for the inconvenience.

I suited up back in my tent. For you see, the contact for this kill was a little weird, because the guy for some reason wanted his _heart. _I didn't ask why, who the fuck cares why? So I tied him down to the stretcher I got from a traveling barter, Garth, I think was the name. And right before I was about to tear into him he woke up.

"Uh, where am I?" He asked, still groggy.

"Damn, you woke up. Well, it doesn't matter. If anything its worse for you than me." I smiled.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice now getting higher.

I turned to him, scalpel in my hand, and said, "I'm here to make you the truly heartless bastard you claim to be."

"Hey man, calm down. Whoever's paying you to do this, I'll pay double!"

I moved a little closer.

"Triple! I'll even pay quadruple what you're getting!" His voice was that of a little girl and I could see that his entire body was sweating.

"Sorry, I can't do that. Who would hire a disloyal merc? I mean, really." I was hovering over him and he was squirming like a worm being picked up.

"Please, please! I can get you anything! Anything you want!"

I laughed a little. Wrex, baddest motherfucker in the Mojave, _begging_ like a dog. I squatted down to where I could talk into his ear.

"Anything?" I asked.

"Yes! Anything you want." He said almost immediately.

"I want a dog." He shook his head. "A bed. A copy of Jugs. A Chinese officer sword. Some vodka, you'll have that right?" I laughed and he forced out a little laugh in terror. "But, you know what I really want?"

He stopped and lay perfectly still.

"What I _really _want is your _fucking _heart. That's what I _really _want." I stood back up. "And I'm going to get it."

"Please! Don't kill me!"

"Are you crying?" I asked. Tears were now just gushing from his face.

"You're a fag, you know that right?" I said as I slapped his face a little. "You're going to die crying and begging for your life, I want you to know that."

Then in seconds I started. Long story short, I got my money.

This was all I could think about while walking to the door. My heart was pounding and I wanted to do the same thing to Malachai. So, I got to the door and in an instant kicked it in.

"You know you could've tried the knob, right? _But I'm sure you already knew that."_ Guardian said sarcastically as I busted open the door.

Once the door was open, the sound of machinery assaulted my ears. The walls and ceiling were the computer itself, wires hanging from circuits like spider webs in a hallway. The humming of fans and beeping of machinery drowned out whatever Guardian said next. The whole thing was a hallway that extended down into one room, where a machine stood to probably change people into the robots Guardian was talking about.

The second I looked forward, I saw him. At least, I think I did. The only person in there was a six foot, scrawny, red-headed, freckled kid. He looked half my age and size. All he had on were some black briefs and that was it. I was about to ask who he was, but Guardian beat me to it.

"Malachai!" Guardian called.

The boy, who was about fifty feet away, turned and waved. I was stunned and felt weird about my hatred. I was expecting someone like Wrex to be behind that massive body armor. But then I looked at Guardian as he walked over to meet him and realized again what he had done.

Without hesitation I started for him. Getting closer and madder with every step just like I had done before. The anger that started off small was now so strong that I didn't even realize that I was over taking Guardian in my approach. Malachai started to speak.

"Don't worry, I have a plan to take out…" I stopped listening. Every word that came out of his mouth was bullshit and I wasn't going to listen. My adrenaline was pumping and my heart was pounding so much that I now had to breathe and exhale out both my nose and mouth.

"Hey Tyler, what's-" Before he could finish, I hit him as hard as I could with all my strength right in his mouth. Immediately, he fell to the ground, completely dazed from the sucker-punch.

"Why'd you do that!" Guardian shouted, running up from behind and crouching over Malachai.

"He betrayed us!" I screamed back.

"What do you mean betrayed?"

"He left you there to die! And to save himself!"

"Didn't you hear him? He said he left to take out Vashta from the inside. Not to save himself." Guardian replied.

"Then _why _the _fuck _is he naked!" I asked.

He crouched there, lost in thought, before he looked back up at me and said, "Maybe… he was going to go into the machine and sabo-"

"Exactly!" I yelled. I started to take off my gloves. "Pick him up!"

"But Tyler-"

"Pick the bitch up!" I screamed. He grabbed two of Malachai's arms and held him up pretty easily. I took a quick breath before winding my arm back and punching Malachai in the face again.

"Whoa!" Guardian shouted, dropping Malachai only after the first punch.

"Pick him up!" I pointed. "I'm not done with him."

"You will not beat on someone who can't defend themself!"

"And why the _fuck_ not?"

He got up right in my face, close enough so I could see his eyes through the shaded goggles. "Because I won't let you."

I hit Guardian in the face, sending him staggering back. He was barely fazed, placing his feet to the ground, and stood up in front of me. I looked at him, practically snarling. We stared each other down.

Malachai just laid there, blood coming from both his mouth and his nose, and even coughed up some more. In seconds the floor around him was starting to turn into a circular pool. I stared, not even realizing for some time that Guardian was already doing first aid.

"Leave him." I said, exhaustedly.

"If I leave him like this, he'll die." He explained as he took out a stimpak and other drugs. "The environment will kill him."

"Who cares?"

"I do." He responded without hesitation.

"We barely know him and he tried to kill you. Why would you want to save him?" I asked.

He stopped and looked up at me. "Have you really forgotten so much in week?"

I just stood there staring. He turned back and continued, me just standing there silent. Minutes passed.

Guardian stood back up. "If we can get him back into the suit, he might still live."

"_Fuck,_ no!" I shouted. "I'm not helping that piece of shit do anything."

Guardian just looked at me, almost challenging me, before he began placing Malachai back into his armor. My hand was over my gun. I should just shoot him now and get it over with. If he wasn't going to be smart enough to survive, then I'd kill him right here and end his misery.

I rolled this idea around in my head as he sealed Malachai back into his armor, placing the helmet on as a final touch. When he was sure the armor was sealed, he bent down to try and pick him up, only to realize he was too heavy. I stood there, unbelieving. Why couldn't he think about this for a second? Malachai betrayed us. He deserved to die. The first thing you learn in the waste's is kill or be killed. But this fuck' didn't know that.

"Are you going to help me or what?" Guardian said while still crouching.

I laughed a little. I mean, in a way, it was funny. He nearly dies because of Malachai, I save him, we nearly fight each other because of him, and now he is asking for me to carry the faggot.

"What do you think?"

"I know you hate him for some reason. But that is no reason to leave him here."

"Really! I've seen people kill each over a piece of blot fly meat. I've seen people fight and kill each other over a game of Caravan. Fuck, I've even seen people kill children for the fuck of it. So don't tell me it's no reason."

Guardian gets up and looks right at me. "Please… just do this."

I just, for what felt like the tenth time to day, thought. I hate him; he would kill me if he was given the chance. Would I really do this for someone I didn't know? But then I thought… It doesn't matter.

_Son-of-a-bitch_.

Before I knew it, I was helping Guardian carry Malachai, following him out of the computer's room and down the five floors of stairs. The time it took us to go down five stories was quite fast. And, surprisingly, there were no bots and no sign of life from the building either. From being a noisy, robot facility an hour ago to almost dead silent. I didn't like it.

When we got to the bottom level, I was for once glad to be seeing the dry, ass-cracked land of the Mojave. But before we walked out the door, Guardian stopped and stood still for a second. Then, without warning, dropped Malachai on the ground.

"What the fuck?" I asked.

"Go back to the camp with Malachai. The one we made while coming here from Ruf."

"What?"

"I'm going to stop Vashta and his army from taking over."

I could barely speak, I was caught so off guard. All I could say was. "Who?"

"Just go with Malachai!" He yelled as he went off to the elevator shaft. "I'll be fine! Just go!"

He was gone, down the shaft. And again I was left there, contemplating what to do.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: **Guardian**

This was it. Time to save the world.

The front lobby was exactly the way I had left it. A bonfire of cubicles was burning too my right. To my left, the elevator shafts. I walked toward the one Malachai had opened and saw the elevator already down to the basement floor, its roof only a few inches under my feet. Jumping on top of it, I pulled out my laser pistol and shot the screws holding the service hatch closed. In six shots, the hatch opened and fell to the elevator floor.

The clangof metal falling was instantly followed by the whirring of machine gun fire, blazing yellow lines shooting into the elevator and creating sparks on the opposite side. I watched this from above, now knowing Vashta had set a guard at the elevator doors in the basement. Needing a better plan, I reached into one of the compartments on my utility belt and took out…

"My last stealth boy," I whispered, kissing it for luck before slapping it on my wrist. "Better make it count."

My form shimmered as energy enveloped my body, covering me with a feeling of something akin to a fuzzy blanket filled with static. Right before my eyes my body slowly turned transparent, first like water and then, completely invisible.

I climbed down the hatch and dropped down with the softest thud, spreading my legs so I wouldn't hit the lid on the floor. In front of me, a Sentry Bot stood with its minigun pointed straight. I held my breath as its red visor stared into me, a gecko caught in the headlights of a tank. I waited five, then ten seconds only for nothing to happen.

_Need to keep my mouth shut this time. _I thought as I shuffled behind the robot. _One sound and I'm dead._

I moved as slow as I could through a small room. Radiators and other machinery stood in the corners, a mop and bucket laying abandoned to my left. The air was damp, years of mildew-buildup giving off its signature stench. I got to the door on the other side and put my hand to the doorknob. Turning around, I made sure the sentry bot was still facing the elevator. Quietly, I turned the rusted doorknob and pushed the door open inch by inch…

…The hinges of the door screeched, hitting me in the stomach like a punch.

The sentry bot turned just as I shot through the entrance. I set off running down a narrow hallway. I reached the end, out of breath, to hit a locked door.

"Crap!" I gasped, fumbling at the knob.

The sound of spinning wheels turned my gaze behind me. The sentry bot appeared at the other end, its visor now pointed directly at the doorknob.

"Movement detected." The sentry bot spoke, its voice deeper than a grave. "Stealthed intruder. Destroying."

An image popped into my mind, one that has been seared into my mind. A shadow standing over me, his form blocking out the sun. Me on my back, a machete in my hand. The sound of a roaring crowd. The giant's arm raising, a machete in his as well. Red.

The same red clouded my vision in that hallway. Rage poured through me. I was cornered. But I wasn't going to die. There was no possibility.

I wouldn't allow it.

With an almost inhuman growl, I launched myself at the sentry bot. It fired off a missile, so slow I could see it. I dropped, rolling forward just as the missile flew past me. Was that the best it had? I bared my teeth and laughed just as it exploded.

The force of the blast punched me forward, a sledgehammer to the spine. My crouched body hit the floor, sliding across the cold tile. My sprawled limbs I could now see as they flickered into existence. The blast must've made my stealth boy malfunction.

I looked up. The sentry bot loomed over me, its form blocking out the fluorescent lights. It raised its machete—no, its minigun—and prepared to fire.

"That's my bounty!"

A glove burst from the robot's chest. The sentry bot twitched, electricity arcing from its now open chassis. Its voice, once so deep, now gave off a high pitched whine before dying altogether. As the glove pulled itself out of the robot, another hand pushed the dead hunk of metal to the side.

"Tyler?"

"So what's the score up to now?" Tyler asked, pulling me up to my feet. "I think I'm two up."  
>"For what?" I asked.<p>

"Well, this, and when I hit you with that stimpak for your burns."  
>"Oh come on, it was my stimpak!" I laughed. "If anything, I saved your life from that Gutsy."<p>

"Bullshit, you _know_ I'm leading you in saves. Let's go."

We ran out the hall, the door now disintegrated and its edges charred. The walls and floor gave way to pure metal, the rivets keeping the place stable visible. The two of us navigated our way through the corridors, Tyler leading the way.

"You sure we're going the right way?" I asked him as we made what must have been our thirtieth right turn.

"This is the way." Tyler answered. "Jim showed me."  
>"Jim?" I spluttered. "Who's that?"<p>

"A friend." Tyler muttered.

"What's he doing here?"

He didn't answer as we made one more right turn into the observatory room. On the wall to our left was the generator, a large switch pointing up. To our right, a staircase leading down. And in front of us…

Through a window, we could see the entire factory. It seemed to go on for miles, machinery I had never even seen in a science fiction comic as far as I could see. Countless Gutsy's, sentry bots, and Securitron's were being made, Robobrain's of the past factory workers overseeing the assembly lines. At the end of it all were three giant ramps, leading from the basement to the surface. It was clear once the robots were done, they would use those get out of the basement. A literal army was being made, one that could conquer the entire world.

"We have to stop this." I whispered.

"Fuck that." Tyler muttered. "We need to get the fuck out of here."

"Oh trust me; there isn't going to be any place to run if this gets out."

A Gutsy floated up the stairs just as a Securitron rolled up from behind. The Securitron's screen was set up exactly like Vashta's, with a green line pulsating across a black background.

"Well, well, well." Dr. Vashta spoke. "This only proves my theory. Humanity is too flawed to not evolve into robots. I give you the chance to escape and you refuse, instead to walk right into the heart of my operation."

This was bad. Trapped with no way out, while the villain made his evil monologue…

Wait.

"Dr. Vashta?" I said.

The Securitron paused, not expecting to be interrupted. From the corner of my eye, I could see Tyler giving me the look of disbelief Vashta would have possibly given me if he had a face.

"Yes?" Vashta asked.

"You say this process is the next step in evolution…that our organic minds are flawed and that, if we put them into artificial bodies, we will be allowed to think logically and without fault."

"That is exactly what I have been saying all along." Vashta beamed.

"Then why would your perfect mind require the need to gloat?"

Vashta's line pulsed, about to answer, when it suddenly stopped. Tyler grabbed me by the shoulder and, gritting his teeth, asked, "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Logic." I smiled.

"YOU ARE CON-FUS-ING DAH LEA-DAH!" The Gutsy screamed at us. "YOU SHALL BE DE-STROYED!"

As the Gutsy pointed its flamethrower at us, I had to say, "Whelp, Plan B."

"What the fuck," Tyler managed to speak before I grabbed him and threw us both out the window. "are you dooOOOIIINNNGGGG!"

Our bodies shattered through the glass and fell fifteen feet to the ground below. With a loud _smack! _We hit the floor and bounced forward. A sudden pain exploded from my left arm.

"My arm!" I screamed, clutching it like a child. "I think I broke it!"

As I lay there, the pain causing tears to form in my eyes, I could feel Tyler

desperately rummaging through my backpack. I looked up and blinked through the salt to see him hold up two syringes.

"What are you doing?" I yelled.

"Guardian, if I'm going to die," He said as he stabbed the needle in his arm, "I'm going to do it trippin' balls."

Before I could stop him, Tyler stabbed my own arm with Psycho. Instantly, the pain disappeared and another feeling invaded my brain. Not the ecstasy or the rage that had permeated it earlier, but some weird mixture of the two. I felt…

"I'm… ALIVE!" I screamed with a maniacal grin, hopping back up on my feet. Tyler grinned right back at me as we both looked up to see the gutsy firing plasma at us.

"Want to get the hell out of here, Tyler?" I smiled.

"Let's do this shit!"

We pulled out our guns and ran. My lungs had somehow transcended and I knew I could run around the world and back as fast as I could without stopping. Yellow, green, and purples lines dotted my sights, coming in from so many wonderful angles. New holes appeared in my clothing, bullets and lasers ripping into my skin, but I didn't feel a thing. I was now a god, the unstoppable force with no immovable object to stop me.

Securitrons appeared from behind assembly lines as we ran, firing their useless guns at us. Their monitors were targets for Tyler and me to fire into, creating a game to entertain us while we ran for the ramps. I was having the time of my life, until I tripped over someone's skeleton.

I caught myself before my face hit the ground and immediately jumped back up. Looking down, I saw a skeleton lying on the floor, one bony finger clawing at the wall. An ages-old bloodstain led from the finger up to a number pad on the wall. Next to that number pad…

"Guardian, why the _fuck_ are we stopping?" Tyler screamed at me, his eyes completely wide open and somewhat tweaked a little.

"It's a panic room." I whispered, noticing the large, steel door that was slightly cracked open. Whoever's skeleton that was had, at one point, tried to get in and only succeeded in typing the code.

The original purpose of why I was here sprung back in my mind through the cloud of the drug. Grabbing the steel door, I pushed it open with all my strength until there was just enough room for me to squeeze through. I ran inside the dark room, Tyler right behind me.

"Didn't you hear me? I said we had to get the fuck out of-whoa."

In front of us, illuminating the edges of the room with a green glow, floated a brain. Held in a tank of green liquid, the brain was connected to the machine under it.

"Is that…" I mumbled.

"Step away from my brain."

The two of us turned around to see the panic room door swing wide open, revealing Dr. Vashta's Securitron in front of a squadron of sentry bots and Gutsy's. Dr. Vashta rolled inside the room, pointing both his minigun and his gatling laser pointed at our legs.

"You were right, Guardian." Dr. Vashta spoke. "No more monologues. Simply death."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: **Tyler Schoditsch**

Fuck me, I thought to myself as both me and Guardian started to walk slowly back into the _brain _room.

Inside was a small, cylindrical container connected to the floor, the size of which couldn't have been more than two feet tall and half a foot in diameter. And inside, sitting just like a floater, was a brain. It laid there suspended in the green water that made up the resin inside. Aside from that, the room itself was that of a panic room, no more than ten feet by ten feet, all of which coming to point in the door that was the focal of the conflict. And standing there, blocking off our escape, were five sentry bots and a Securitron controlled by Vashta.

As we slowly inched back into the room, I couldn't help but notice that the Psycho was wearing off. I started to notice how tired, hurt, and overall fucked we were. I mean, we were stuck in this room with nowhere to go but through a door filled with six robots, all of which, I might add, had the capability to kill me in a single second. All controlled by a _man _who thinks fucking robots are the next step in evolution, whatever the fuck that meant. Not to mention, I was also hungry.

"It seems your time is over," Vashta said, moving his soldiers closer. "This is where you two are going to die."

I looked over at Guardian for a second and then back to Vashta. "Like hell we are."

I pulled out my gun and pointed it at him. The sentry bots all raised their weapons. But Vashta; all he did was laugh.

"Just like a cornered animal, your human instincts are telling you to fight even when you know you are dead. Do you really think a single bullet can save your life before you're reduced to ribbons?"

I thought to myself, even if I shoot him, what will it do? He's a robot, not even; he's a man _controlling_ a robot. I froze, just then realizing how utterly and completely _fucked _we were.

"Wait!" Guardian shouted. Half the sentry bots pointed their guns at him, including Vashta. What the hell was he doing?

"Your efforts to sway me are futile, Guardian." Vashta said. My god, he wasn't even_ trying_ now to sound less like a douche.

"That isn't what this is." Guardian stuttered. "I just want to know…what is this place? How is this building still working after the Great War?"

Vashta paused. I held the gun out, ready to die fighting the second he gave the attack. Then he started speaking, and I had to resist the urge to _shoot_ myself.

"This…_building _was made _by_ me, _for_ me, and will end _with _me. When I had this building constructed, I knew what was going to happen. You call it the _Great War_, but no matter what you call it, on that day, the world as we knew it came to an end. I knew," He started to pace in front of us, his body's one wheel turning when he turned, "that everything in the _civilized _world would be destroyed. I knew that the old governments and regimes would be destroyed too."

A Gusty let out a _DESTROY_! Involuntarily I assumed.

"I had this building made, so when that occurred I could reclaim everything that was taken from me."

Guardian made a weird face and asked, "But, how did you get this much tech? And where did you get the caps to make this place?"

The computer that was Vashta looked down for a second and then looked up, almost depressed. Not that his screen gave anything away, it being just a pulsating line.

"You see, although my name is Dr. Vashta, Vashta is only my first name. My full name is Vashta Ruddick House, the third son of Maggie and Jeff House, brother to Anthony and Robert house, and co-founder of RobCo industries."

I looked over to ask what that meant and saw Guardian's face just drop. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't good.

"Most people think that my brother Robert built his legacy himself, but in actuality, we made it together. We wanted a way to be rich again, after our brother Anthony stole our money from us, and what we came up with was a company revolving around robots. It was only after we came up with the idea that he cut me out of the business and I was never heard of again."

The _fuck_ continued. "After several years, both of us realized the war was coming and both of us took precautions. Partly because I was family and also to_ mock_ me, he gave me his technology on self-sustainment. I took the money, that _he_ gave me, built this… _building_ out in the middle of nowhere, and used my robot expertise to create this robot manufactory."

"But Robert's technology was flawed. Although my consciousness would have been turned into a program, my body would still require nourishment and care. It took me months of work, but finally, I was able to transfer my consciousness into the computer system without the need of my body, and became nigh immortal!"

"But you still needed a source of data." Guardian whispered, half to himself. "That's why your brain is still intact."

Damnit Guardian! He was almost done talking!

"Yes…but soon, I will upgrade my system further, and that brain will become as useless to me as you soon will be."

Finally! He was done. Holy _shit_ that was annoying! Oh wait, he's not done, fuck me!

"And once that is done, I will take this army and march on New Vegas and make personally to see the destruction of the Lucky 38 and the death of _Mr. House." _

I then asked, "So you did all of this, put yourself in a little container, built an army of robots, and would kill hundreds of people, just to see your brother dead?"

He nodded,"To start, yes."

"That's _fucked _up."

"But then what?" Guardian began. "Once you kill Mr. House and convert everyone, what will be left of the Earth? When everyone is a robot and perfect, there will be no need for advancement. Humanity will become stagnant, and everything that makes life worth living, love, emotion…"

Can't listen to anymore speeches… I _could_ kill myself right now, or wait for the robots to do it for me… I mean, either way when it comes down to it it's the-

Wait…he put his brain in a jar…the one right behind us.

"Hey Guardian, get ready to run."

"What?" He whispered.

"What?" Vashta asked.

I turned to Vashta and pointed my gun behind me.

"Go fuck yourself."

I pulled the trigger. Instantaneously, the case broke and everything spilled out. At the moment I did this, all the robots around me in the room looked down and then fell to the floor in a heap. Guardian was stunned.

"Come on! We have to go!" I shouted.

He just muttered something under his breath and looked at me. For a good second he just stared, not doing anything. Then, all of a sudden, a big explosion some hundreds of feet down took him out of his daze and we started for the ramps.

All around me, I could see fires starting and internal explosions occurring. The entire place, once so _organized_, was now descending into anarchy. For some reason, my leg was starting hurt again and my instinct of death was coming back. _Fucking Guardian and his shitty-ass drugs._

"DESTROY!" I heard a Gutsy cry out just as a laser beam shot past my head.

"Oh what the fuck!" I shouted, looking over my shoulder to see five Gutsy's chasing after us, flying over the exploding machinery we were struggling to sprint around. "I thought these fuckers died with Vashta!"

"Their minds were transferred from normal humans, remember?" Guardian cried out as he ran beside me, vaulting over a nearby conveyor belt. "Their brains must be kept separately. Just focus on making it to the ramps!"

I looked ahead to see the three giant ramps leading to the outside. Vashta, I guess, would've used these to lead his army to the surface. The sunlight that signaled our escape from this hell felt so far away. The warmth of the Mojave and the feeling of relief that came with it was already fading away, I felt myself slowing down. There was no way we were going to outrun the Gutsy's.

This was it, I thought to myself. This was how I die. Disintegrated by Gutsy's and blown up because I felt some asshole with a death-wish didn't deserve to die alone.

"What the hell is that?" Guardian shouted, loud enough for me to hear him through the sound of lasers, explosions, and my own ragged breathing.

I looked up just in time to see a large figure, built like a tank, appear at the top of the ramp. Lifting a large cylinder off his back, he aimed it directly at us.

"Malachai?" I rasped.

A volley of laser fire erupted from his gatling gun, flying over us and scrapping the Gutsy's chasing us. And in an instant I felt renewed; the two of us managed with the last of our strength to sprint up the ramp past the traitor. _Well, he did just save our lives._

_We're even, you fuck._ I thought as I passed him. And in that moment, he turned and nodded his head; as if he heard me.

My knee was now on fire again, but the impending explosion that was about to happen made me fight though it. I kept running, well really jogging. But I continued for as long as I could possibly go. We were a couple hundred feet from the building when I stopped. My leg was just hurting too much to continue like I was. I didn't matter we were out so much that I seriously doubt that-

A crackle, than the sound of a gunshot right in your ear spilt the sky. A force of what felt like getting hit by a Brahmin sent me forward at least ten feet and all the air in my lungs was gone. My face hit the sand hard and my ears had blood coming from them. My muscles were non-existent and I was lying face down in the hot sand, tired and half-dead. In less than a minute, I was asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: **Tyler Schoditsch**

"Hey… Hey, have you seen-" I couldn't even see, there was so many people everywhere. Every time I try to turn around and get a look, there was another person. The room is filled with everything you would imagine a whore house would have. But, I couldn't even tell where I was or where mom was. People every second bumping into you, barely able to even get a breath of air, let alone fresh air. I try to get someone's attention.

"Mister? Have you seen my mommy?" The man turns around and laughs. I'm being pushed and pulled from every angle and fear of getting trampled or consumed by the massive blob that is the crowd. But in seconds, the room that was swelling to the breaking point was now all centered around one area. I turned to see what everyone was crowding around. The people were so tightly packed around the place that I had to walk over and slip in-and-between the watchers just to get a glimpse. What was once impossible to even move was now easily accessible and I felt like I was floating over there; just passing right through every single person, making my way to the front of the crowd. It only took me seconds to make it to the front of the crowd and to see what everyone is staring at.

"Mommy!" I yell. She is attacking a man. But he doesn't seem to dislike it; he appears to almost be enjoying it. She's… she's kissing him; and rubbing herself up against him. He's throwing caps into a cup next to her. I try to yell; no scream at her to stop. She doesn't hear me, she doesn't even look over. I try some way to get her attention and tell her I want to leave but right as I go up to her the room changes. I'm now somewhere that makes me shiver. A room that I've seen too many times. A room that I'll never forget.

"This is it. The last time." He said. I looked down and closed my eyes. It was only me and two of his guys. I could tell that he was standing up behind his desk; drunk and on a binge.

"I told you," He takes a drink of his beer, "if you messed up again there'd be hell to pay… Look at me when I'm talking to you!" He yelled. I kept my eyes closed and head down.

"That's it. If you're not going to respect me, then… then I'll _make you _respect me!" I hear his footsteps get closer and closer to me. Then, before whatever it was he was going to do, Mom walks in. In a second, I open my eyes and she gets in front of me.

"Stop! Stop it now! I'm not going to let you do this again." She says firmly.

"Bitch', I thought I told you to wait outside." _He _says firmly.

"Here," She puts something in his hands, "this is everything I made tonight, just let him go and you can have it all."

He just looks at it for a second and then gives her a look. "This everythin' eh'?"

"Yes." She says immediately back.

"Do I look stupid to you?" He questions.

"What?"

"You work a double and _this _is all you make?"

He throws the caps to the floor. The other guards step a little bit closer.

"I'm sorry, it was a slow shift and-"

"Bullshit you bitch, don't fuckin' lie to me!" He grabs her by the throat and throws her to the floor on the other side of the room. "I'ma shows you what we do to cunt's that lie to us."

He points to one of his guards while turning to me. As he walks closer I start to walk backwards. As I'm walking backwards I see slightly through him and see one of their guards taking off his pants. Mom tries to run over to me but is held down against the floor and wall.

"I'ma asks one more time. Are you gonna respect' me boy?"

I can't answer. I'm too busy trying to see if mom's alright.

"That's it. I'm going to teach you some manners." He flares.

"I'm not afraid of you." I whisper.

"What was that?" He cuffs his eyes.

"I'm not afraid of you!" I look him in the eyes.

"Oh," He takes off his belt, "you will be."

He grabs the ends of both sides of the belt with one hand and then grabs the center of the other side and makes the cracking noise. He laughs, saying 'you will be' over and over again. Within seconds he stands over me and with a full arch, swings.

My eyes opened and I leaned up. Almost instantly my entire body hurt and I laid back down. Within in moments of me doing this, someone came over quickly.

"Good, you're awake."

"Who is that?" My eyes were completely fuzzed and I couldn't tell who was talking.

"Who do you think it is? The Prince?" He replied jokingly.

"That would suck ass." I laughed a little and my side hurt. So Guardian survived the blast as well. Meanwhile my body felt like I was beaten by a band of Raiders and shot to death; or at least to hell.

"You have some broken bones and several gunshot wounds." He began, examining my curled up body. "Also trauma to the knee and eyes. I gave you some pills to help with the pain, but they seem to have worn off. Either way, the wounds should heal by tomorrow and we should be well rested to begin our march to our new destination."

"What _new _destination?" I asked.

"Well, since Malachai didn't come back here, I guess-"

I interrupted, "Where are we?"

"Wow, rude." He replied, the fucker. "We're at the old camp site we were a few days ago. The one you and Malachai got into a fight at."

I laughed a little. I remembered thinking the guy was just some cowardly fag in power armor back then. Saving our lives took balls…but he was still a fag.

"Anyway, we're going to Alma next. Have you heard of it?" He asked while sitting back down on a piece of wood bench near the fire.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I sat up. "Yeah, the old Wal-Ma-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… don't say it!" Guardian interjected.

I looked at him weird, "Why not?"

"Just…" he stutterd a bit, "don't. Alright?"

I shook my head and agreed.

"But yeah, it's that gigantic marketplace used for trading. Caesar's legion has been wanting their hands on it for awhile."

"Yep, that's the one." He smiled, shooting gun-fingers at me.

"Why there?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Why not there? Hundreds, if not thousands, of people live and trade there. We're bound to find at least someone good. If not; at least ammo, right?"

I agreed. We were getting low on pretty much everything; from food, to water, to even ammo. Also, with how many people come through there, we'll definitely get at least one person. At least.

"Hey Tyler."

"What Guard?" I replied, shifting my glance back at him.

"Do you ever just look up at the sky some times?" He asked, his goggles pointed directly up. "I mean, just look at the moon and stars?"

"No." I replied softly. I was starting to get tired and the cool night breeze was very enjoyable.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because," I said, "the way I see it, why ponder and question your existence and why you are here when you can just live it out yourself. I always remembered something my… my _father_ said to me. 'Why _think it, _when you can _do it?_'".

"Whoa, I was just talking about enjoying the night sky." He chuckled. "But your father sounds like a great man."

I couldn't see it, because my eyes were closed and I was half asleep, but I figured he was smiling when he said that. I laughed a bit and turned on my side. It fucking hurt, but I needed to switch sides. But before I fell back into sleep, I said one more thing that I'd probably regret in the morning.

"Guard?"

"…Yeah?"

"… Thanks."

"For?"

I sighed a little, "For saving me after I passed out."

I could practically hear his smirk. "Well, let's just say I have two, and you have two. We're tied."

I smiled a little and, right before I slept, I looked up at the sky for another second. Never knew it could be so beautiful.

**End of Act Two**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: **Guardian**

I couldn't help but smile as we stood on top of the hill. Below us, only a stone's throw away, stood Alma, the largest trading city this side of the Wasteland. On the outside a large, grey square of a building, on the inside it was a crossroads of people from all around, looking to buy and sell their wares. One couldn't spend five minutes in there without walking out with a little more culture.

And it was also the only place I could get comic books.

"Is this the place?"

I looked beside me to see Tyler staring at the building through a pair of binoculars. From the look on his face, I could tell he wasn't impressed.

"This is Alma." I explained with a smile. "Way back when, this used to be a large department store until some wanderers found it, shelving and supplies intact. Instead of scavenging everything inside, they started a village there, and ever since, people have been coming from all around to-"

"Fuck, I don't need the entire history." Tyler grimaced, spitting on the ground. "I just want to know what the fuck it is."

I sighed in disappointment before saying, "It's the largest trading post around. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it."

"I've heard of it; but, I usually got most of my supplies from the slaver base. Back when I worked for them."

He glared off into the distance, his eyes not really focusing on anything, before he turned back to me. "How do _you_ know about this shit-hole?"

"When I first started out, I came here to see if there was anything I could take inspiration from, maybe a new weapon or a custom pip-boy, some sort of heroic symbol to identify me as…"

I stood up, fists at my sides, and posed dramatically, "The Guardian!"

Tyler stared at me in silence, eyebrows raised. He then pointed at me and said, "That right there? That was gayer than the time you flashed me."

I glanced at him before letting out another exasperated sigh. "You just can't let me have any fun, can you?"  
>"It's <em>shit<em> like that, that makes people think your gay. Besides_, you_ don't let me have any fun either."  
>"Keeping you from shooting a dog is different..."<br>"It was coming right at me!"

"It had three legs and was starving!"  
>"So it was a mutant dog, then!"<p>

"Dang it Tyler, let me finish!" I raised my hand, placing my thumb and index finger around the bridge of my nose. After taking a long breath, I continued.

"It was in Alma-"

-"fag"-

"- that I found these goggles. Equipped with night vision, thermal vision, x-ray vision, and what I like to call Doctor-vision…"  
>"Doctor-vision?"<p>

"…It details people's injuries with small pop-ups. Anyway, I knew these goggles would be the perfect mask, the perfect symbol. I didn't have any money on me, so to get it I did some favors for the manager. Nothing major, just stopping a couple drug rings and catching a few burglars."

"Bullshit."

"What?"

"I call bullshit." Tyler laughed. "I bet you just swept the floors and cleaned the dishes."

"Oh, like you did anything better for your money. I mean, there was that one job where you stopped that one mask vigilante from ambushing slaver caravans…oh wait."

Tyler took out his pistol and pointed it at me. "I can still collect that bounty any time I want."

"If you were going to do it, you'd have done it a while ago." I smiled. "Besides, you enjoy my company too much to work alone again."

"Shut-the-fuck-up, Guardian."

"Alright, alright, let's just get going." I raised my hands, walking down the hill. "If we're in luck, we might find a couple people willing to work for us."

I was all set, excited to walk into Alma once again, when a sudden shiver went through my body. As I shook uncontrollably, my feet tripped and I was sent tumbling down the hill. Clouds of dust burst into the air with each impact before I finally reached a stop at the bottom.

My body kept twitching while Tyler slid down the dirt hill, laughing the entire way. It was only when he walked over to me did I get control of myself and stand up.

"What the hell was that?" Tyler gasped for breath between laughs, wiping away a tear.

"I don't…I don't know."

"Oh look at me," Tyler mocked, imitating my voice while he walked inside, "_I'm_ _the Guardia_-wwoOOOPS!"

I looked down at my gloved hands, my fingers still twitching sporadically. My eyes drifted down to my wrist, where the scars of multiple pinpricks were still barely visible.

"Uh oh."

…

…

…

A blast of air conditioning hit my face as we walked through the front doors, a rarity in the Wasteland. In front of us, countless tents and shanties stretched out for as far as we could see. Lights dangled down from the ceiling high above us. People advertised their wares from their tents, shouting out sales and items with promises of instant effects. A variety of races, ranging from only lightly dusty to dirty to glowing, walked from tent to tent. The jingling of caps trading palms was almost as loud as the sound of conversation.

It was my Metropolis. My Gotham City.

"Welcome to Alma!"

A lovely elderly woman greeted us at the entrance, wearing a blue vest with Alma written on the left shoulder. She showed a toothless smile before turning to the side and motioning to a sign behind her.

"Please follow the rules of Alma. All guns, energy weapons, explosives, and objects that catch on fire on a regular basis must be sheathed and/or stored away at all times. No violence. No stealing of items that do not belong to you…"

"What the hell is this?" Tyler whispered to me.

"Just listen to her." I whispered back.

The elderly woman pointed to the bottom of the sign. "And above all else, no swearing."

"Are you fucking kidd-"

The elderly woman, smile still attached to her face, let loose a punch that sent Tyler back a few steps, grabbing his face.

"That's strike one, youngster."

Tyler scrambled and pulled out his pistol. "Okay, looks like I'm going to have to fuck' up grandma."

As quick as lightning, the old woman grabbed the Python out of Tyler's hands, spun it upside down, and _smacked _Tyler across the face with the handle. Tyler crashed to the linoleum.

"We at Alma wish to ask you to follow our rules." The woman kept smiling, cracking her knuckles. "A third strike will result in an immediate removal from the grounds."

Before Tyler could do something else, I grabbed his arms just as he stood back up. He pulled against my grip, practically foaming at the mouth.'

"Alright, that's it, let's go bi-" Tyler snarled before I clamped my hands over his mouth.

"We'll be going now." I awkwardly smiled as I dragged Tyler behind me. He struggled to break free as he muffled curses and threw awkward punches at the elderly woman at the front.

"Thank you for coming to Alma." She waved.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21**: Tyler Schoditsch**

As I started to walk into the crowded mesh of the area, I started to think about something. It wasn't something I wanted to think about, nor had any reason to think about, but it was the only thing I _could_ think of at the time. Paladin, Malachai, whatever the fuck you wanted to call him. I couldn't help but think about how, or where, he left and went to. Or better yet, _why did he leave?_

So what, he betrays us, helps us, and then fucking runs? Don't get me wrong again, I don't want him with us. But it would've been nice to have some muscle around though.

The time I was thinking about this though, I was now in between a tall, red man and a fat bitch. Unable to see Guardian, I started to look all around and try to pick up on his armor. Maybe if I could see his goggles, I could pick him out. I tried to see around the room, but it was so packed, I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me.

I started to get nauseous. I looked faster around, yelling out Guardian's name at the top of my lungs. No one answered, no one hears me, I'm all alone. My hands start to get sweaty and my head starts to get light headed. Before I know, I'm running through the aisles and shops blurting out "Guardian!"

This is it, people packed in between and around, nowhere to go, nowhere to run. If someone wanted to kill me, this was it. Just walk up and stab me in the stomach without anyone knowing who it was or why. And then my body would just assimilate into the fold that is Alma. My body, cold and wet; my mind, clouded and dizzy; and before I hit the floor, I saw it. Standing in front of me, just smiling.

"Hey… hey bitch', its yur turn."

"Huh, what?" I asked.

"Its yurfuckin' turn ta go."

"Wait? How'd I get here?" I asked turning all around and trying to get a feel of where I was. It was, or at least appeared to be, a strip-house. A long, high boardwalk stretched out about fifteen feet with tables scattered all around it. In the center stood a pole extending from the top of the ceiling to the bottom of the walk. The room itself was crowded with tons of people, ghoul and human alike. Every single table it seemed was packed to the bone, and the atmosphere of the room was filled with the sound of cool jazz.

I breathed in the smell of cigarettes and booze. For a moment there, I was lost. But now; I was home.

"I said go ya fag!" The ghoul yelled loudly.

"Oh, ok," I looked back to see in my hands; Caravan cards. Fuck yeah. If there was any _game _I was good at, it was Caravan. "Here" I place down a seven on top of my nine. I look at the table; seven on nine, three, and a ten. On his side; a five, eight, and a seven. This appeared to be the very beginning of the game too.

"Nice," He spits to the floor, I look over to see no bucket though, "Arn't I just a lucky sonavabitch'?" He says as he lays his six atop of his eight.

I look over, "And why is that?"

He leans over while folding his cards, "Because how many times a day do you have a retard like yourself just walk in, half disoriented, and just sit down to play me in Caravan?" He leans back and laughs as I place my eight down on my ten.

"I don't know, how many times a day do you get to play a queer like yourself?" I rebutted.

"Well," He places a seven of clubs on top of his other seven, "I don't know the answer to that. But what I will tell you is the odds of seeing some hot bitches are a hundred."

I smiled a bit, "Hot bitches huh. So this entire place is…" He shakes his head. "Well that's great." I then place six on my seven.

"So, you're saying you don't know who is playing here?" As he asks he places a five on the last seven.

"No. I don't," I laugh a little; "I don't even really know where I am."

"Her name is Mystique," He says as I place a two on my eight, "You ain't never heard of Mystique?"

"No."

He gives me a wired look. "Where the _fuck _is you from?"

"I'm," He lays down a four on his previous five, "from… from out of Vegas."

"I kinda figerd, by the way yu look." He says as he fixes his crotch.

"What do you mean, _the way I look?"_

He waits a second to answer. "I jus' men't, yu look diffren't, that's all." As this is said he lays down a six on his second caravan; making it twenty.

"Oh really? Well, when I saw you I could've said your face has more wrinkles then a ghouls nut-sack. I also could've said your clothes look like you stole them off of a flaming child molester, I mean blue _and_ green; fuck? You know what else I could've said?" I leaned forward, "I also could of said the way you talk make me think your mother hit you in the face with a shovel when you were born." I start to lean back, "But you know why I didn't say that?"

"…Why?"

"Because I don't need to," I laid down a two of hearts on my other two of hearts, "I won Caravan."

The ghoul gave me a familiar look, the look you only give someone you're about to stab in the gut because he fucked your sister. Yeah, _that look. _We stared each other down, daring the other to make a move, before the two of us smirked.

"You sonavabitch." He chuckled. "No one's ever beat me at Caravan before!"

"Probably because all you play is drugged out retards." I laughed as I mimed shaking a bottle of pills into my mouth.

He let out a rasping laugh that sounded like he was coughing up all the dust in his organs. I swear I saw some dust come too. After he pounded the table twice, he turned toward me and extended his rotting hand. "Name's Azul. Professional drug-runner, explosive expert, and lady's man."

I looked at the decayed flesh on his palm, almost ready to spit on it, before I reluctantly shook it with my gloved hand. "Tyler… Merc."

"How 'bout we play 'nother fuckin' round?"

I smirked, swiping the caps on the table into my bag. "Nah, I've wasted enough time taking your money. I'm actually here to—."

The jazz music stopped. Every head in the room snapped to attention and turned toward the platform.

"What's going on?" I asked. It seemed as if the entire room was now shifting towards the pole, metal chairs scraping against rusty ground.

"What the fuck do yu think is happening?" He starts to pull out caps and inches himself closer, "Mystique's 'bout to come out."

"What makes this bitch so special?" I asked. Don't get me wrong, all strippers are special in their own way. Just never enough to warrant a name other than 'Titbitch' or 'Asstastic'.

Azul turned toward me. "This chick ain't only hot, _pendejo. _She's deadly. Been tryin' to get her on my payroll for weeks."

I raised my eyebrow, "Deadly?"

He didn't answer; instead staring at the stage like a million caps were going to erupt from it.

"This brings back memories." I muttered under my breath. I stretched and yawned, "Well, I think I'm going to leave. But if I ever see you again, I'll kick your ass if you like?" I get up and, just as I'm about to go, he grabs my arm.

"Hey, just stay another second and you'll see her." He says pulling my arm back towards the chair.

"I would but-" I tried to explain. But then…_she_ came out.

She was wearing nothing, and I mean _nothing_, but a white see through mesh top and a pair of red ass-less panties. She walked on the stage like a cougarbeast, sleek but strong. Her tits were the size of melons. Small enough so you don't suffocate, but large enough to motorboat.

But, the moment my eyes left her body and saw her face, I remembered. As she walked provocatively towards me, for I was at the table at the end of the catwalk, my rage started to take over and it took all my strength just to restrain myself.

My mind went back to Ruf. The bar where Guardian got his caps stolen. The prostitute who got the drop on us. Fucking bitch.

When she was just about five feet away though, I smiled. I smiled because after all the time, and of all the places, I found her here. Stripping.

It was strange though to go from complete rage to laughter, but I didn't care. Now was the time to make my move. As she approached me, I could tell she didn't remember me because; one, she didn't try and run; and two, because she asked.

"So, are you having a _good _time?" She whispered through full, glossy lips. And the moment she said this, I pulled out my revolver and pointed at her.

"Oh, I'm about to!" I laughed, smiling with teeth exposed."Remember me cunt!"

Right as I said this, about ten other guns circled my head and were all pointed at me. I looked for a second to see the sheer amount of people pointing weapons at me. Even Azul had a gun to my face.

"Fuck…" I muttered, my eyes wide, "…me."


End file.
